Healthcare as Investment: Public and Private Partnership in the Pharmaceutical Sector
In a changing world, healthcare should be seen as investment which allows the country to develop. At the heart of Russia’s national goal of “Preservation of populations, health, and wellbeing” lies the principle of building a healthy society. The key criteria for this are access to medicine, scientific capability, primary medical care and aftercare of the quality and scale that meets the needs of every citizen. The vision for a healthy society should be based on patient-oriented healthcare, social-oriented business and a society which is willing to break with the notion that health is an individual responsibility. Nowadays, we must create the conditions to allow all stakeholders in the sector to cooperate constructively: modern healthcare should be resilient in the face of challenges and should be able to be relied upon, no matter how the sector is developing. How can we build a healthcare system which adheres to the principles of drug safety? What economic stimuli and regulatory decisions are needed so as to localize the production of medicine within Russia? What levers (investment, staff, science and technology facilities) and state support measures are necessary to develop research and development in the pharmaceutical industry? How can we shift the focus onto patient needs and ensure equitable access to medicine and new treatment methods for all patients? How can we balance the interests of healthcare regulators, patients and manufacturers? What role should the pharmaceutical industry play in this ideal model of a healthy society?