Conclusion on the “Third Joint Symposium of the Hermes Johannes-Burges-Stiftung & Fresenius University of Applied Sciences”

13.02.2023 16:10

Under the title “Prevention in Health Care: Health Economics and Pharmacoeconomic Perspectives” the third joint symposium of the Hermes Johannes Burges Foundation and the Fresenius University of Applied Sciences took place on January 11, 2023 at the university campus in Wiesbaden.

Scarcity of resources is a problem that is currently not only in the healthcare system, but also in... the entire German social system is becoming increasingly clear. Aufgrand new ones have to be added approaches and solutions found become, around as Company priorities also Correctly classify across sectors and use the available resources as efficiently as possible to use.

Different approaches one low-threshold access to health care

Before this one background focused the symposium representson, different approaches one low-threshold access to health care with regard to its allocative benefits and health economic value. Examples of this included, among other things, health and socio-economic analyzes on Impfunction in pharmacies as well as to a potential Rx–to–OTC Switch of the so-called mini-pill for contraception presented. The effects of one easy access to over-the-counter medicines on health-related quality of life also outside Europes were presented in a lecture on the topic “Self–care practices in sub–Saharan African countries" shown. Connecting at the different Lectures followed one Discussion round with experts moderated by Prof. Dr. Uwe May, Dean of Studies and owner of the endowed chair. Were represented on the podium dr Eva Maria Mittermaier from the Hermes Johannes–Burgess–Foundation, endowment, Larissa Kremer as a pharmacist and Head of Medical HRA pharmaceuticals, Lutz Floor, Director Department health care in the Federal Associationd for drug–Manufacturer (BAH), Joachim Henkel as director of the hospital–Rehabilitation of the AOK Hessen and Cosima Bauer as a political scientist, Founder and Managing Director of May and Bauer.

Lack of humanitarian and financial resources

Basic tenor dhe expert discussion was that the health system is currently lacking in humanitarian terms and financial resources are lacking. In order to overcome this deficiency, priority should be given to: existing resources more efficient used become. Only so far this not outicht, It seems legitimate to increase funding at the expense of other sectors of society to be considered. Under this premise, factors such as strengthening the Health literacy, relieving the burden on doctors, e.g. B. through fundingandng pharmaceutical Services, as well as the assessment of the benefits of a therapy or a drug from a socio-economic point of view, have come to the fore. In addition to these aspects, the importance of personal responsibility for health, for example in the context of self-treatment and self-medication, was also mentioned, which can also contribute to relieving the burden on the system. However, the participants in the discussion also agreed that the fundamental importance of the topic of self-treatment as a mainstay in health care is still not sufficiently recognized at the political level. In addition, the experts regard it as a central concern to optimize the medical cooperation between doctors and pharmacists and to consistently align it with the goal of providing the best possible patient care.

The goal: A broad and scientifically based debate

Also on the basis of the experts' contributions to the discussion, it became clear how important it is to conduct a broad and scientifically based debate on the topics addressed. It is important to examine and define how society must deal with the scarcity in the social systems from an economic point of view in order to ultimately achieve the highest possible level of welfare for people
to reach as many people as possible. As a consequence, this also means answering the question of how much money should be spent on the healthcare system and, in particular, on the supply of medicines in the future. From the organizers' point of view, the positive response to the symposium gives reason to continue the dialogue to continue the topic addressed and also to expand it more towards politics.