Better organize hospitals, promote generics and outpatient procedures, limit unnecessary prescriptions and fight against fraud. Thanks to these new measures, the Minister of Health, Marisol Touraine affirms to the economic daily Les Echos to achieve savings of 10 billion euros without harming the health of the French.
“Patients will not be less well cared for or less well reimbursed, and there will be no reimbursements or new deductibles. Our goal is to save better organized explains the Minister of Health.
Promote generics
“We consume too many drugs, too many brand name drugs and too many expensive drugs, ”says Ms. Touraine to Les Echos. “I want to save 3.5 billion in three years by lowering drug prices and promoting generics.”
Hospitals will have to organize themselves better
Hospitals will have to optimize their organization to save 2 billion euros in expenditure. “Public hospitals will in particular have to better manage and pool their purchases. It is not normal for two establishments only a few kilometers apart to have two different IT systems or to use two laundries,” explains Marisol Touraine. “We will also take measures to reduce the excessive use of temporary doctors, which are too expensive for public establishments”.
Developing outpatient interventions
The Minister wishes to develop city-hospital cooperation and increase outpatient operations. One in two operations will have to be carried out without hospital accommodation in 2016. “These measures will save 1.5 billion euros over three years, including nearly 1 billion for day surgery,” explains Marisol Touraine to Echos.
Too many useless acts
The minister also claims to be able to save 2.5 billion euros by “avoiding unnecessary or redundant acts and the prescription of unsuitable drugs”. “It is not uncommon for X-rays or medical analyzes to be done twice. Measures will be taken to remedy this,” said the minister. “To facilitate the quality of the prescription, we will set up lists of recommended drugs for each specialty”.
But to achieve savings of 10 billion euros, the Minister of Health recalls that “the government will finally take measures to combat fraud”.
