a report prepared by the Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona quantifies at 1,189 million euros the savings that could provide the health system with an increase in self -care.U>
Representatives of several autonomous communities, health professionals and pharmaceutical industry agree on the need to promote greater health education of the population to develop self -care and allow citizens to take responsibility for their health.This was stated during the second day of the Meeting ‘Self -care of Health: the right and duty of the citizen’, held at the Menéndez Pelayo International University of Santander.
For the General Director of Pharmacy of the Ministry of Health, Social Policy and Equality, Alfonso Jiménez, self -care is "above all an exercise of responsibility."In his opinion, the citizen has to take responsibility for his health, but for this he needs to be well informed.For this reason, Jiménez considers that it is essential to develop a global strategy on health self -care that includes all sectors involved, from the pharmaceutical industry to consumers, through health professionals and administration.
In this same line, Nieves Martín Sobrino, technical director of Pharmacy in the community of Castilla y León was expressed."Self -care health education," he said, "must have a coherent strategy for all parties: administration, pharmaceutical industry, professional and citizens."
In his opinion, with more self -care of health, a lower frequency of medical consultations would be achieved and resources could be allocated to other needs.However, it considers that a previous step is the formation of patients and health personnel in the culture of self -care and the adaptation of prescription and dispensing systems to include medications not subject to medical prescription.
In this sense, José Enrique Clerigues, General Director of Pharmacy and Health Products of the Valencian Community, stressed that his autonomous community since 2007 has a prescription system that allows the doctor to prescribe his patients medications not subject to medical prescription and not financed.According to the data of the Pharmacy Directorate of the Valencian Community, last year more than one million prescription prescriptions were made.
However, to clear the electronic recipe and the shared medical history can be an important support for self -care, but they should not be "an end in themselves."For this reason, he opted for a greater involvement of all agents in the health sector in the development of self -care.
The perspective of health professionals
On the second day, representatives of the main associations of health professionals also intervened.Thus, the president of the Collegiate Medical Organization (WTO), Juan José Rodríguez Sendín, stressed that Spanish citizens must make a transition from a passive attitude regarding the management of their health towards a more proactive attitude."We have to work together to convince the patient that health is a shared responsibility," said Rodríguez Sendín, who believes that social responsibility is missing between the medical collective, since so far "we have not gotten the citizens to see self -care assomething positive. ”
Likewise, the WTO president showed his conviction that health self -care must be more than the use of medicines and must also cover measures based on life styles.On the other hand, he lamented the lack of self -care promotion strategies within the health administration.
By the pharmaceutical collective intervenedAna Aliaga, general secretary of the General Council of Official Pharmaceutical Colleges (CGCOF), who highlighted the essential role of the pharmacy office in the self -care of health."The work of pharmaceutical care is essential for the citizen to exercise the self -care of health in a responsible and safe way," Aliaga said.
Regarding the measures that, in their opinion, could boost the self -care sector in Spain, the general secretary of the CGCOF opted to enhance the role of the pharmacist as a citizen's guidance in the self -care of health and to launch information campaigns thatThey are aimed at consumers.
Economic and social value of self -care
On the second day of the meeting, the results of a study carried out by the Pompeu I Fabra University of Barcelona on the economic and social value of health self -care are presented.This study indicates that reclassifying 5% of prescription medications and funded by the SNS as medications not subject to medical and non -funded would allow the health system to have 1,189 million euros to respond to other health needs, of which 531 millionThey would correspond to primary care.This figure, according to the person in charge of the study, Professor Gabriel Ferragut, represents 2.1% of the health budget.
Ferragut also pointed out that this policy of impulse of self -care would allow companies to save 60.9 million euros in loss of productivity produced by absenteeism as a consequence of the visit to the medical consultation.In addition, all this positive social impact would have a minimum cost for patients: 6.5 euros per person and year.