Belarus’ new healthcare minister to deal with prices for medicines, medical services
It is necessary to come to grips with prices for medicines and healthcare services, Belarus’ new Healthcare Minister Aleksandr Khodzhayev said in an interview with the Belarus 1 TV channel, BelTA has learned. “Our healthcare system is alright by and large, but at the current stage it needs improvements and optimization. We will do this. The issue of pricing remains in the focus. Dentistry is a case in point. We must eliminate unreasonable pricing schemes. Pricing must be transparent and comply with effective legislation. The Healthcare Ministry will analyze once again prices for medical services provided by privately owned organizations. The same applies to medicines,” said Aleksandr Khodzhayev. He also touched upon the topic of pharmaceutical safety. “We are working on this consistently. There are certain issues with the import of some substances to our country. We clearly understand the task, and our pharmaceutical companies are trying to fulfill it as quickly as possible. We are making every effort to eliminate all obstacles. The main task is pharmaceutical safety; the second most important task has to do with the export of our medicines. The question of quality arises quite often. Today we have European-class materials that ensure the production of quality medicines, and our medicines are in no way inferior to imported ones,” the minister emphasized. He also commented on the demand of the head of state to put an end to cronyism at the Healthcare Ministry. “There can be dynasties. But we must admit that some university graduates are treated differently than others. I would like to make my position clear: one’s last name is not an advantage, but an additional responsibility. If a person meets other criteria (besides the last name) for admission to a certain healthcare institution after graduation, then the law is observed. If any additional, subjective factors are used to make a decision, this should be excluded,” emphasized Aleksandr Khodzhayev.