Conference “Trends in Healthcare - Challenges and Opportunities”

The American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia held the 6th edition of the conference on healthcare, which brought together 170 key stakeholders from the healthcare sector. The emphasis of today's AmCham's conference was on artificial intelligence, personalized medicine and sustainability, aiming to explore how new technologies and trends can be leveraged to improve healthcare, while also considering global challenges and their role in building a more agile, patient-centered, data-driven system.

Key trends in healthcare include the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, such as obesity, as well as balancing access to innovative therapies and financial sustainability.

"AmCham continuously advocates for reforms that promote the modernization of the healthcare system, ensure greater access to innovative therapies, and enable the sustainable development of the industry. Our Healthcare Committee is actively working on proposals that address key challenges, including obesity as one of the growing public health challenges", said Andrea Doko Jelušić, Executive Director of AmCham Croatia. 
 
Rina Musić, Chair of the Board of Governors of AmCham, stated that AmCham is the leading business organization in Croatia, bringing together more than 80 pharmaceutical companies, medical product development companies, private hospitals, and healthcare consultants, with a long-term goal of achieving a sustainable healthcare system. 

"Despite the challenges, we are focused on strengthening the public healthcare system, which is an important part of security, economic, and technological progress. In addition to investing in resilience and accessibility, our priority is achieving sustainability and improving the quality and efficiency of the public healthcare system. The implementation of health technology assessment is part of these processes. And through the reorganization of the healthcare institutions financing model, we are moving towards sustainability without the need for additional financial bailouts. We will monitor the results through the realization of goals that include, among other, the preservation of health, treatment outcomes, and years of healthy life", stated Martina Bogut Barić, Advisor to the Minister of Health. 
 
The representatives of AstraZeneca and Roche held presentations. Nikolina Škaron, MD, Government Affairs & Market Access Manager from AstraZeneca, said: "The healthcare system is continuously facing the growing demands of an aging population and the increasing burden of managing chronic non-communicable diseases. This emphasizes the need to strengthen public-private partnerships in order to create an administrative, economic, and political environment that fosters the implementation of the latest scientific and technological solutions. Resilience is strengthened by investing in prevention, early detection, digital innovations, and innovative medicines, while citizens, through health-conscious behavior, contribute to the sustainability of the system." 

"Roche's strategy is focused on continuously improving the patient's journey through the healthcare system, from early diagnosis to personalized treatment options. Through projects such as the timely detection of multiple sclerosis progression via MRI, or the establishment of the National Tumor Genomic Profiling Laboratory through the project of Personalized oncological solutions, Roche aims to ensure continuous support for better treatment outcomes, improved quality of life for patients, and greater value for the healthcare system. Roche firmly believes that innovations in healthcare are an investment, not an expense", said Francis Lepoutre, General Manager and Suzana Kober, Medical Director.

Participants of the first panel discussions "Obesity – a Contemporary Public Health Challenge" were: Davor Štimac, MD, President of the Croatian Society for Obesity; Jurica Toth, MD, Chairperson of the Healthcare Committee, AmCham (Medtronic); Vanesa Benković, Director of Public Affairs and Market Access, Novo Nordisk. The panelists agreed that addressing the issue of obesity in Croatia requires a multisectoral approach, which would include prevention from the earliest age, training for general practitioners, and the implementation of innovative therapies. 

PMI representative, Ondrej Koumal, Corporate Affairs Executive, said: "Smoking prevention and cessation remain the foundation of public healthcare strategies, and with technological advancements and available scientific evidence, there is room for an approach based on the concept of harm reduction. Continuous dialogue between all key stakeholders, evaluation of new evidence, and the experiences of other countries can help in finding a sustainable solution."

Participants of the second panel discussion "The Future of Healthcare: Innovation and Sustainability" were: ass. prof. Tomislav Sokol, Member of the European Parliament; Martina Bogut Barić, Advisor to the Minister; Suzana Kober, MD., Medical Director, Roche; Nikolina Škaron, MD, Government Affairs & Market Access Manager, AstraZeneca; Conor Dempsey, General Manager for Croatia and Slovenia, MSD and Dunja Maronić Filaković, Govermental Affairs Lead, Abbvie. The panelists agreed that it is necessary to create an environment that encourages innovation and provides patients in Croatia with access to higher quality healthcare. "Investing in healthcare must be seen as an investment, not an expense. It is crucial that there are no first- and second-class patients in the European Union – all citizens deserve equal and timely healthcare", said MEP Sokol. He also emphasized that we must make the EU more competitive in the strategic sectors, such as pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, and that the proposed Law on Critical Medicines is a step in the right direction.