Health has a positive impact on a country’s wealth and GDP

Discussions centred around the interplay between quality healthcare and a strong economy. The issue placed at the heart of the agenda was... data. Representatives from both Swiss pharmaceutical companies and Polish public institutions emphasised that access to databases is the key to improving the efficiency of the healthcare system and executing the full potential of cooperation between business and administration.

Dr. Lukas Engelberger, Director of Health of the Canton of Basel-Stadt and President of the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Directors of Health, spoke about the impact of the quality of Swiss healthcare on the economy. He pointed out that Poland is the most important recipient of Switzerland’s medical and pharmaceutical exports in central Europe and the cooperation is extensive. Polish and Swiss scientists have worked together on around 400 projects.

Engelberger emphasised that there are important interactions between healthcare and the national economy as healthy people live longer, have happier lives, and are more productive workers. That is why poor healthcare causes complications and large costs, both direct and indirect.

Exchange of experience

– “Healthcare costs are among the main concerns of Swiss taxpayers. Poland spends 7% of GDP on healthcare as compared to 11% in Switzerland. The result is that the Swiss healthcare system is one of the best in the world. Their average expected age is 84 years. It is longer in Japan only”, said L. Engelberger. He explained that the shape of healthcare in Switzerland is strongly influenced by federalism. Every citizen has a compulsory health insurance and healthcare costs are shared between the insurer and one of the 26 cantons.

Switzerland’s strength is its geographical proximity to Poland, as pointed out by Ivo Germann, Head of Foreign Economic Relations at the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

– “Healthcare is crucial for both citizens and countries. The pharmaceutical and medical industries play an important role for quality healthcare, but they need the right support from policy makers. Europe needs to discuss the resilience of trade and supply chains”, he said, emphasising that Swiss companies are interested in developing their presence in the Polish market. He said that he realised the pandemic showed that good healthcare contributes to the resilience of the economy and the post crisis recovery.

– “The pandemic proved that a well-functioning health system is crucial not only for patients but also for the entire economy as it minimises the impact of the pandemic on the country and healthy workers are more productive and can stay active longer. Trade and supply chains need to become more resilient to such health threats. Switzerland plays a major role in this as one of the main pharmaceutical producers in Europe”, he said.

Choosing between quality and cost

Dr. Jérome Cosandey, Director for French-speaking Switzerland at Avenir Suisse Think Tank, spoke about the need for paradigm shift in healthcare. He pointed out that healthcare chooses between meeting patients’ needs and acting in accordance with taxpayers’ expectations.

– “When you choose a solution for some, you irritate others. How to get out of this dilemma? You must see health as an investment and not a cost. If you are a manager and you invest, you look at the return on investment and the amount of investment required”, said Dr. Cosandey. He gave the example of a knee surgery on an 85-year-old patient. – “An important outcome of this treatment is the patient’s continued independence so that she will be able to get around, go shopping, and take care of herself. If she is not, a nursing home may become necessary, which would be even more expensive”, he said.

The question is what to spend the funds on

Monika Raulinajtys-Grzybek, Professor at the Warsaw School of Economics, presented the results of an SGH study on healthcare in Poland. The hard news is that life expectancy in Poland is shorter than the EU average. The situation got worse by the pandemic. In terms of healthcare efficiency, she pointed out that it is not only a matter of the amount spent on healthcare but also what the money is spent on.

– “We still spend more than the EU average on care in hospitals. It is the costliest method of care. We spend less on long-term care and preventive treatment than the EU. Patient feedback indicates that doctors do not spend enough time with patients. The situation is improving somewhat, but much remains to be done”, she said. She stressed that the availability of preventive treatment should increase so that patients do not end up in hospital unless they are seriously ill. Early diagnosis and initiation of treatment play a key role.

– “If improving healthcare is a long-term process, maybe we start with relatively simple measures that can immediately bring visible improvements and benefits. Having succeeded with this, we will have more permission to make changes and take more complex and costly measures”, she said.

The use of data to improve the quality of treatment, prevention, and early diagnosis was also discussed by representatives of Swiss companies during the debate. – “We use data in our work as well because quality is important and we must measure it”, said Irma Veberič, CEO of Roche Polska. – “We have to care not only about individual elements of treatment but also the entire diagnostic and therapeutic pathway of the patient, starting with preventive testing, screening, and proper diagnosis before treatment”, she said. She pointed out that ensuring broad accessibility to molecular tests in oncology will allow the right treatment to be provided to patients in need. She emphasised that Roche wants to participate in the public debate in Poland, especially in terms of using data to develop solutions to support healthcare. – “With our experience, knowledge, and teams of experts, we would like to participate in the discussion about what the future of healthcare might look like in Poland.”

Few hospitals use AI

The improved treatment efficiency thanks to the fuller use of medical data was also discussed by Monique Clua Braun, Country President and General Manager at Novartis Poland. – “At Novartis, which is an innovative company, we put a lot of work not only into the development of modern medicines but also speeding up the diagnostic and therapeutic pathway for patients. The earlier we start treating patients correctly, the better the effects of the treatment”, she said. She admitted that she was pleased with the progress in patients’ access to innovative therapeutic solutions and the search for new definitions of what the effect of treatment should be. – “We need partnerships to be effective. None of us can act alone. We need joint discussion and deliberation, including on the use of technology. Only 6% of hospitals are using artificial intelligence, which shows that we still have a long way to go. We already have the data. The question is how to use it for the benefit of patients and the whole system”, she said.

When asked about how to use these processes in terms of investment, Laurent Renaudie, Country President Sandoz Poland, replied that his company takes care of social responsibility. – “We can ensure that Polish patients have access to medicines, such as antibiotics and painkillers. That is why we plan to further develop our factories in Poland.”

Gertruda Uścińska, President of ZUS (Social Insurance Institution), emphasised that extensive data held by ZUS provide an accurate depiction of employees’ health status and enable the prediction of illnesses that particular occupations and industries are likely to experience. Thanks to the monitoring of sick leave, it is also possible to observe the state of health of the population in real time, which proved its worth during the pandemic. Electronic sick leave, introduced five years ago, has been a huge success, with 130 million certificates issued to date.