On November 20, the Patient Access Partnership (PACT) and the Coalition of Organisations of Patients with Chronic Diseases in Romania (COPAC) held a meeting in Bucharest, entitled “Patient-Centred Roundtable on Working Together for Accessible Health”, to discuss opportunities for improving cooperation between Romanian stakeholders for better access to quality healthcare in the country.

The event, organised in cooperation with the Health Committee of the Senate (Romanian Parliament), the Health Committee of the Deputy Chamber (Romanian Parliament) and the European Patients’ Forum (EPF), was endorsed by the Romanian Minister of Health – Florian Bodog.

Following the discussions, it became evident that patients in Romania face barriers in access to healthcare due to geographic, economic and social reasons. Although progress has been made, there is room for improvement to ease the financial hardship for patients related to healthcare costs, to address unmet needs, to improve access to medicines and to take measures against shortage of healthcare personnel which exacerbates the inequalities in access to healthcare.

To manage these and other related issues, the Romanian government needs to employ and modify actions informed by best practices elsewhere. Moreover, to ensure that solutions are fit-for-purpose with real added-value for patients, their voice and recommendations need to be taken into account. The viewpoint of the other stakeholders, consulted on a regular basis in advance of decision-making, will bring comprehensive understanding of complex issues, prevent unnecessary spending on policies which do not achieve tangible results and ensure that solutions are tailor-made for the specific needs of society.

To view the conference materials, please click on the respective icons below: