The second edition of the Healthcare Barometer was made public on Monday in Bucharest
The public healthcare barometer is an annual assessment and analysis instrument, which measures perceptions, attitudes and views on Romania's public health policy in the broader context of the coronavirus pandemic, but also outside it.
Its second edition was made public on Monday by the Romanian Academy's Institute for Political Sciences and International Relations (ISPRI) and the LARICS Sociological Research Centre, in a partnership with the Romanian Association of International Pharmaceutical Producers (ARPIM).
The main conclusion: healthcare is the main concern for Romanian citizens. "The coronavirus epidemic has left a deep mark on people's perception of the vulnerability of the healthcare system in Romania. This is one of the main reasons for the public's extensive interest in public healthcare (64.3%)," says Dan Dungaciu, head of ISPRI:
Dan Dungaciu: "What we see is that the old problems in the healthcare system are no longer fundamental. That is, concerns related to conduct, bureaucracy, the idea that what is cheap is good, all these things are no longer valid in people's eyes. The public want more. They are no longer happy if doctors treat them nicely, if bureaucracy has been cut, maybe something did change in hospitals and things look better now than 10-15-20 years ago. And what this tells us-more expensive, better medicines and better treatments-is that we are dealing with a different type of population that this healthcare system must cater to."
The idea of "wanting things to be as they are abroad" is quite widespread in the Romanian society, Dan Dungaciu also says: a middle class has emerged in Romania, who want a high-performance healthcare system, at European standards.
This is precisely why decision-makers and stakeholders must prioritise long-term investments, both in the pharmaceutical industry and in healthcare, and must acknowledge the clear connection between healthcare, economy and people's wellbeing, the director of ISPRI also argues.
It is for the first time that the Romanians' biggest reasons for dissatisfaction have to do precisely with access to innovative treatment, screening and health insurance, ARPIM officials also say. According to the survey, 80% of the Romanians believe they do not have access to innovative medicines to the same extent as other Europeans. As for new therapies, such as cellular and gene therapies, less than half of the interviewees say they would be willing to take such products, and little over one-quarter say they would if they had no other option.
Compared to the previous Barometer, 60% more people say they seek medical advice and information from doctors, and close to 40% of them say they or their relatives had online or telephone consultations since the start of the pandemic.
At the time the data were collected (November 1-19), 67% of the Romanians had a positive attitude towards vaccines, and said they either have received the vaccine or intend to in the forthcoming period. (tr. A.M. Popescu)
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