KYIV. Sept 24 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Reimbursement of insulin will be administered by the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) from October 1, the system has been finalized and ready for this, acting Chairman of the service Dmytro Samofalov said at a press conference at Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.

"Currently, the system is ready to switch to more complex diseases, in particular diabetes mellitus… Most endocrinologists have been trained, and most medical information systems have launched treatment plans. Currently, almost 10% of plans are ready. There are question to departments and local authorities," he said.

According to him, they also began to conclude first contracts with pharmacies. In total, about 1,000 pharmacies applied for them.

Samofalov said that the state guarantees patients access to basic treatment (insulin necessary for the patient).

"The prescription for the drugs will be electronic. With this prescription, the patient will be able to get insulin at any pharmacy that has signed an agreement," he said.

To obtain a prescription, the patient after consulting a family doctor should consult an endocrinologist and complete an individual treatment plan. The patient will be able to receive further prescriptions from the family doctor, the expert said.

The acting head of the NHSU added that from October 1, all treatment and all data will be entered into the patient's card in the Electronic Health System.

At the same time, patient organizations expressed concern about the system's unpreparedness to start insulin reimbursement through the NHSU.

"We have had certain assurances given to us that from October 1, everything will be fine, but we see a big risk in this [the launch of insulin reimbursement through the NHSU]. What are the risks? If the patient's treatment plan is not filled in, he will not be given a prescription. He will not receive insulin. There are problems with making plans, since the treatment protocols have not been updated for a long time. Very few patients have been informed about the new way of receiving an electronic prescription," President of the International Diabetes Association of Ukraine Liudmila Petrenko said.

Patient organizations supported the administration of the system through the NHSU, but noted that an insufficient number of pharmacies entered into agreements with the NHSU, and not all patients signed declarations with family doctors.

"We organized this conference not to oppose the reimbursement system. We simply understand the risks that exist. We back this mechanism to work in Ukraine. We would really not want October 1 to turn into a collapse. The reimbursement system is a big step towards better provision of patients with diabetes, but there are problems that need to be paid attention to, and we are doing this," Petrenko said.

As reported, from October 2021, insulin will be provided by electronic prescription under the State Program of Reimbursement of Cost of Medicines and funded through the NHSU.