About 2 percent of Poland suffer from rheumatic diseases. society – they are often young people, even children. Every zloty spent on treating them well will pay off, argued doctors at a press conference in Warsaw on Tuesday.
It was organized on the occasion of World Rheumatism Day, which is celebrated on October 12.
As experts recalled, rheumatic diseases are inflammatory diseases of the joints. These include serious conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and juvenile idiomatic arthritis (JIA).
These diseases require treatment under the supervision of a rheumatologist. Diagnosed too late and poorly treated, they can quickly lead to disability, job loss, and social exclusion.
In the case of the most common of them, ie RA, after five years, 50% of patients lose their ability to work, and after 10 years this percentage is approaching 100%. – reminded prof. Anna Filipowicz-Sosnowska.
As emphasized by the national rheumatology consultant prof. Witold Tłustochowicz, in the case of rheumatic diseases, early diagnosis plays a key role, which should take place within three months of the onset of symptoms.
To speed up the diagnostic process, we want to introduce a computer application that will help family doctors recognize the symptoms of these diseases and send the patient to a specialist as soon as possible – explained the rheumatologist. Together with voivodeship consultants for rheumatology, prof. Tłustochowicz also wants to strive for the establishment of a reference center treating patients with rheumatic diseases in each province.
The rheumatologists present at the conference pointed out that – according to the report from October 2009, which was prepared, among others, by scientists from the University of Lund in Sweden – Poland ranks second to last (only Bulgaria is behind us) in terms of expenditure on modern, but very expensive biological drugs. They are used in the treatment of the most severe forms of rheumatic diseases in which standard disease-modifying drugs, including methotrexate, do not work.
According to Dr. Ewa Orlewska, MD from the Pharmacoekonomics Center in Warsaw, who coordinated research on the availability of biological therapies in 11 countries of Central and Eastern Europe, access to them in Poland is 1%. sick, while in Slovakia and the Czech Republic 3 percent each, and in Hungary or Slovenia 5 percent.
As commented by the national consultant prof. Tłustochowicz, it is a standard worldwide that methotrexate and other disease-modifying drugs are used first, and only when they do not help – biological treatment. I do not see any reasons for it to be otherwise in Poland – emphasized the specialist. In his opinion, the problem in Poland is that too few patients take methotrexate in the recommended dose, i.e. 20-30 mg, therefore they cannot be qualified for biological therapy.
The rheumatologist emphasized that the National Health Fund has limited possibilities of financing expensive therapies and in order to do so, it must have a good pharmaco-economic justification.
Dr. Ewa Stanisławska-Biernat emphasized that when making decisions about financing expensive drugs, one should also take into account the social perspective, i.e. the costs of loss of productivity, pensions, the costs of caring for patients, as well as their quality of life.
According to Dr. Orlewska, the analysis carried out in Hungary, where the economic situation is the most comparable to our country, showed that over 50 percent. RA-related costs are the indirect costs.
Meanwhile, the use of biological drugs in patients who need it can help them live a normal life. I myself, suffering from AS, received a biological drug that changed my life – it allowed me to function and pursue a professional career – admitted Bartłomiej Kuchta, the president of the Association of Patients with ZZSK, which specializes in medical law. (PAP)