Ukraine defines healthcare priorities for 2023-2025

At the end of 2022, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine (MoH) approved the List of the Healthcare priorities for 2023-2025 (MoH Order #1832 dated 7 October 2022). Many priorities on the List match with those defined for 2020-2022, including primary care, access to essential medicines, focus on childbirth and neonatal care. The MoH, however, also added new priorities for 2023-2025, including emergency care, disaster medicine, rehabilitation services, mental health and reproductive technologies with special attention paid to war-related and post-war medical needs. 

Why are these priorities important?

For the first time ever, the MoH defined mid-term national healthcare priorities publicly and in an impactful way. In 2019, the MoH approved the list of healthcare priorities for 2020-2022. Then, however, the Ministry failed to publish it, which left the priorities in limbo. Despite influencing MoH activities and funding decisions over the following two years, these priorities and their status remained unclear in the industry. In contrast with the previous version, the List of Healthcare priorities 2023-2025 will have a clear impact on the following areas:

• public health policy;
• development and updating of clinical guidelines;
• health technology assessment (HTA);
• funding decisions concerning healthcare services, medicines, and medical devices.

General priorities

Priorities in treatment and prevention of diseases

The MoH has prioritised prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of non-communicable diseases, including:

• cardiovascular diseases with the focus on arterial hypertension, acute myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular diseases with the focus on acute cerebral stroke;
• Type 2 diabetes;
• bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD);
• oncological diseases;
• mental and behavioural disorders.

Among the infectious diseases, MoH prioritised:

• vaccine-controlled diseases;
• HIV/AIDS;
• Tuberculosis;
• viral hepatitis B and C.

Access to medicines

The MoH prioritised extension of the National Essential Medicines List (NEML), focusing on new medicines for treatment of diseases already covered by the current version of the NEML and on medicines required for implementation of annually approved Medical Guarantees Programmes. The extension will impact funding and reimbursement decisions by National Health Service of Ukraine (NHS), local governments, and hospitals.

Another priority has been updating the NEML to align it with the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines.

Public health priorities

In the public health area, the MoH prioritised:

• decrease of the tobacco products and drugs consumption;
• regular physical activity;
• rational use of antimicrobic medicinal products;
• rational and balanced nutrition;
• increase of the vaccination coverage. 

Medical education

The MoH has also prioritised medical education and continuous professional development of HCPs without outlining any specific objectives or targets. The only more concrete exceptions are:

• the planned development, approval and implementation of the training programme for infection control specialists (both doctors and nurses); and
• focus on training of personnel involved in management of healthcare institutions.

Quality of medical care

Another priority is to improve standards of medical care and implementation of effective systems of quality control of medical services. Implementing this priority, in April 2023 NHS together with MoH, World Bank and representatives of non-governmental stakeholders developed Basic Principles of Patient-Centred Healthcare, defining the quality of medical care as one of the key priorities and outlining a clear step plan for improvement of the quality control system.

eHealth

Finally, the MoH prioritised further development of electronic healthcare with a particular focus on shifting towards electronic workflow, and the introduction of high-quality and accessible electronic services in the healthcare system.

War, rehabilitation and mental health

In response to the Russian invasion and war against Ukraine, the MoH specifically prioritises:

• emergency care and disaster medicine;
• mental health;
• rehabilitation services.

For more information on Ukraine's healthcare priorities and opportunities in Ukraine's healthcare sector, contact your CMS client partner or these CMS experts: Borys Danevych, Anna Pogrebna.