Background: Despite international initiatives on collaboration within the field of rare diseases, patient access to orphan medicinal products (OMPs) and healthcare services differ greatly between countries. This study aimed to create a comprehensive and in-depth overview of rare diseases policies and reimbursement of OMPs in a selection of 12 countries in the Western Eurasian region: Armenia,
Drug treatment comprises the largest portion of total costs, but differences between hospitals exist. Because many patients in Ukraine pay out of pocket for in-hospital drugs, these costs are a high economic burden for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
This study evaluates the impact of hypoglycemia on the lives of Ukrainian patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The secondary objective was to explore patient–physician relationships and the attitudes of patients towards various informational resources on diabetes management. Three focus groups with 26 patients were conducted. Qualitative information was evaluated using content analysis. The results show that patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Ukraine are adapting to potential attacks of hypoglycemia; however, they still experience periodic manifestations of hypoglycemia that significantly affect their psychological well-being. This result is similar to observations made in other countries. Ukrainian patients >40 years old mainly receive information on disease management from endocrinologists, and rarely use internet resources on diabetes management. Information provision was especially important at the early stage of the disease, when patients lack information on hypoglycemia manifestations and could therefore fail to identify and manage it properly.
The prevalence of infertility has risen 2.9 times in recent years in Ukraine. The use of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) is needed. The State program for infertility treatment by budget funds was approved in Ukraine since 2004. However, funding for this program is enough only for 500–600 cycles per year, but ART centers conducted more than 27,000 cycles in 2018. This means that many women have to pay out-of-pockets.
Our research has shown that between 2000 and 2018, the number of ART clinics and the number of cycles, pregnancies, and children born increased significantly in Ukraine. The rate of ART cycles per 1 million population in Ukraine has increased from 226.9 to 655.3, but it is lower than the WHO recommended rate 800–1000 cycles per 1 million population. Changes in the structure of ART cycles for 2000–2018, the increase of ICSI, and egg donation cycles are shown. It requires an adequate supply by hormonal drugs for ovarian stimulation in ART centers.
Since 2004 Ministry of Health of Ukraine annually approved the list of medicines for State program of ART. Only 8 drugs were purchased by the state funds, which amounted for USD 227 438 in 2017, 2018.
A retrospective analysis of drug prescriptions in short and long stimulation protocols was performed. The frequency of drug prescriptions according to the ATC-classification based on medical records was determined, all prescriptions were accordance with the requirements of ART treatment standards in Ukraine. The costs of the three hormonal stimulation schemes, which were the most prescribing in ART center, were calculated. It was found that costs for hormonal schemes increased by 22–54% during 2015–2020, it significantly reduces the availability and affordability of ART for the population in Ukraine.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.