Prime Minister George Papandreou was chairing an inter-ministerial meeting at noon on Monday convened to examine the issue of a nationwide electronic prescription system for the country's state-run health and pension funds, a more-or-less pressing matter due increasing costs and the suspected practice over-subscribing of drugs.
The system would also include public hospitals and other health providers.
The labour & social insurances ministry has been the first to initiate the system, with all of the funds promising to join by May, with hospitals' participation now the question mark due to deficient operational and technical support in such facilities. The prospect of an international tender for IT support and programmes has also been broached.
According to relevant ministers, impressive cost-cutting results have already been recorded in only the pilot phase of the new e-prescription system, with only a partial implementation resulting in saving of 850 million euros for 2010, whereas the target for 2012 is no less than 3.6 billion euros -- 1.4 billion for 2011.
The system would also include public hospitals and other health providers.
The labour & social insurances ministry has been the first to initiate the system, with all of the funds promising to join by May, with hospitals' participation now the question mark due to deficient operational and technical support in such facilities. The prospect of an international tender for IT support and programmes has also been broached.
According to relevant ministers, impressive cost-cutting results have already been recorded in only the pilot phase of the new e-prescription system, with only a partial implementation resulting in saving of 850 million euros for 2010, whereas the target for 2012 is no less than 3.6 billion euros -- 1.4 billion for 2011.
SOURCE: ANA-MPA
