PORTUGAL Trends and Developments Contributed by: Margarida Roda Santos, Paulo Sampaio Neves and Mariana Pereira Dias, Eversheds Sutherland
Industry ( Associação Portuguesa da Indústria Farmacêutica APIFARMA), the local industry association, on the one hand and the National Authority for Medicines and Health Products ( Autoridade Nacional do Medicamento e Produ- tos de Saúde INFARMED), the local medicine supervisory authority acting on behalf of the state that sets the maximum amounts of pub- lic spending on medicines and the contribution (according to the sales volume) of pharmaceuti- cal companies, on the other hand. In this way, APIFARMA’s member companies provide the state with a contribution that is, as a rule, lower than that which would result from applying the above-mentioned rates. Companies in the pharmaceutical industry that are not APIFARMA members have been able to declare their adherence and sign an agree- ment with INFARMED on an individual basis, thus being exempted from making contributions at the above-mentioned rates. However, such companies that do not join the scheme voluntar- ily are obliged to contribute on the basis of the rates laid down in the State Budget Law, and there is no indication as to when this obligation will be lifted.
The foregoing shows how a scheme that was provisional has in fact been treated as definitive for the last ten years, and although VBH mod- els for rational NHS cost contributions and pay- ments are being discussed, the pharmaceutical industry is still being asked to essentially finance the NHS. Conclusion Healthcare in Europe, and more specifically in Portugal, has undergone major changes in recent years, and this evolution is accelerating through the use of new technologies and innova- tions. With the emergence of new issues, how- ever, it is essential for healthcare providers and other organisations involved in the healthcare sector to be up to date with respect to cyberse- curity and to maintain an environment in which personal data is effectively protected. Along with technological innovation, Portugal also has several regulatory issues that the phar- maceutical industry hopes will soon be resolved, although the unstable political situation places the country at something of a disadvantage.
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