PS wants to review the ordinance for the participation of obesity medications

O PS today argued that the government should review the ordinance setting 15% of the share of medicines for obesity because it hinders access to patients with lower incomes, proposing to extend the prescription to family doctors.

In a question sent through Parliament to the Minister for Health, Ana Paula Martins, Socialist Members recognize the importance of taking this step, but consider that this ordinance raises “relevant issues” as regards “the adequacy of the contribution, the restriction of doctors entitled to prescribe, the capacity to respond to the National Health Service (SNS) units and equal access throughout the national territory”.

“The contribution of only 15% (scale D) leaves the patient about 85% of the cost of high-priced medicines, making the measure inaccessible to most low- and medium-income families”, they condemn.

The PS also points the finger to the exclusion of specialists in General and Family Medicine from the prescription of these medicines, which say raise “doubts about the coherence of the measure” since it is these doctors who regularly accompany the patients.

“It is important to justify its exclusion and evaluate the possibility of prescription according to defined clinical criteria and in conjunction with multidisciplinary teams”, they argue.

Thus, socialists ask the government if it is available to review this ordinance “before its entry into force” with the aim of extending the prescription to family doctors and eliminating the requirement of allocation to the cost center of the Multidisciplinary Obesity Team (EMO).

The PS also wants to know the “clinical and technical foundation” that was the basis of the government’s decision to “fix to 15% the contribution of these medicines” and also to “exclude other specialists, including general and family medicine specialists from the prescription of these medicines under the participating regime”.

“ The Order of Doctors, the respective College of Specialty and the Portuguese Association of General and Family Medicine were heard”, they question.

The socialists also ask the ministry under the supervision of Ana Paula Martins why “the prescription is limited to endocrinologists, internists and pediatricians who formally integrate the Center of Hospital Care of the OMT and affect the respective cost center”, which prevents the prescription by other specialists of these same areas in the SNS.

Among the other aspects on which socialists want clarification are the number of Local Health Units that have a Multidisciplinary Obesity Team in operation and how many doctors are currently able to prescribe under this regime.

The PS also asks that the expected waiting time for a first consultation be advanced and how territorial equity in access will be guaranteed taking into account the criteria set out in this ordinance.

“What happens to patients at the end of 12 months of participation, which is a chronic disease? Is the continuity of the contribution foreseen for patients who achieve the therapeutic goals?", ask also.