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Friday, 29 January 2010 12:19 GMT
Italian weekly press review
MILAN, Jan 29 (APM) - Italy's health spending deficit in 2009 is expected to come in at just short of 5 billion euros, Il Sole 24 Ore reported on Wednesday (p28).
The paper said the figure, just published by the health ministry, uses the amount spent on the third quarter of last year as a guide.
The national health service's total budget in 2009 was 104.5 billion euros but it is thought that around 109.5 billion euros was actually spent.
According to Il Sole, higher spending on drugs by hospitals has helped fuel the deficit. The paper said that hospital pharma spending is thought to have been 1.7 billion euros higher than was budgeted.
In contrast, spending on drugs distributed through pharmacies fell. The paper cited a survey by the pharmacies association Federfarma, which has 16,000 members. The survey revealed that drugs spending outside hospitals was well within its budget over the first 10 months despite a 3% rise in prescriptions.
The paper suggested that the deficit is bad news for regional health administrations. They will be expected to cover part of the costs, especially hospital drugs spending.
Several regions are already struggling to pay back shortfalls from previous years. Lazio, for example, is struggling to cover a deficit of almost 1 billion euros, Il Sole said.
The region will go to the polls in March to elect a new governor and health spending is going to be one of the main issues.
Friday's Il Messaggero (p34) looked at the candidates and their attitude to a special commissioner's decision to introduce patient charges in Lazio for drugs prescriptions, even for those patients who are currently exempt, and for emergency treatment in hospital.
The centre-left candidate, Emma Bonino, described the measures, which are designed to help eliminate the spending deficit, as "morally unacceptable" especially for the disabled and for patients who are exempt.
The centre-right candidate, Renata Polverini, is also opposed to the idea saying that people in Lazio are already paying the highest local taxes to help cover the deficit.
ABORTION PILL DELAY
The abortion pill RU 486 will not be available in Italian hospitals for another month despite being granted marketing authorisation in December, according to La Repubblica on Wednesday (p19).
The paper quoted Catherine Denicourt, an executive from Exelgyn, the French firm that makes the drug.
She said that the delay has been caused by the need to print new labels in Italian according to the conditions set out by medicines agency AIFA when it approved RU 486. The company is also waiting for AIFA's official stamp to put on the boxes.
"We expect to be ready for the end of February," Denicourt told La Repubblica.
Wednesday's La Nazione (p13) interviewed Massimo Srebot, one of the first gynaecologist to import RU 486 into Italy before it was approved.
He told the paper that Exelgyn had been on holiday when the Italian medicines agency authorised the abortion pill. That was the main reason for the delay in the drug being made available, he said.
Thursday's Avvenire (p18), the Catholic paper which opposed the introduction of RU 486 into Italy, also reported on the delay.
The paper suggested that there may not be much demand for the drug in Tuscany where it was first imported in 2005.
It cited official regional figures which show that the number of abortion patients using RU 486, in combination with prostaglandin, in Tuscany has fallen from 394 in 2006 to just 47 last year.
HPV VACCINATION PROGRAMME
Only three teenagers out of 10 in Italy, who were programmed to have the HPV vaccine, have had all three injections, according to Avvenire on Thursday (p18).
Girls born in 1996 and 1997 qualified to have free HPV vaccination last year, According to a recent report, 61.8% of those born in 1997 and 43.9% of those born in 1996 had the first injection.
But the rate fell off dramatically for the second and third vaccinations, which are necessary for immunisation, the paper noted.
Monday's La Repubblica (p33) said the original target was to give three injections to 95% of all girls born between 1996 and 2001.
However. most regions were still below 50% for girls born in 1996 and 1997, the paper said.
ASTRAZENECA RESEARCH
AstraZeneca is running 55 research projects in Italy in partnership with leading universities and research centres, Il Giornale reported on Friday (p42).
It has invested 10.8 million euros and the projects are aimed at specialised medicines, Nicola Braggio, chairman and CEO of the Italian subsidiary, told the paper.
He said the future of drugs research will be to develop personalised therapies for individual patients, adding that the objective is have the most benefit at a sustainable cost for the national health service.
"We hope that tax on investments in research can be removed and that there will be an acceleration of the approval times for innovative drugs (in Italy)," Braggio explained to the paper.
Il Giornale said that sales in 2009 for AstraZeneca Italy, which has 1,800 employees, were 727 million euros.
H1N1 FLU HELPLINE CLOSES
A helpline set up to provide information and advice about H1N1 flu is closing, Thursday's Avvenire (p10) reported.
The health ministry said the number of calls has fallen to a level where there is no longer any need for the service. However the helpline can be reactivated at any time should it be necessary, the paper explained.
Avvenire said the health ministry's most recent H1N1 flu bulletin showed the number of cases picked up slightly especially among children.
There were 96,000 new cases between 18-24 January, taking the total to almost 4.3 million. There have been 228 deaths.
FOOTBALLER TESTS POSITIVE FOR SIBUTRAMINE
The Romanian international Adrian Mutu tested positive to the weight loss drug sibutramine after a recent game, La Repubblica reported on Friday (p58).
He could face a ban of between 1-4 years if a second test is positive. The player has been suspended and his club, Fiorentina, may cancel his contract depending on the second test, the paper said.
Friday's La Stampa (p52) said that the anti-obesity drug is a powerful stimulant which reduces appetite and fatigue. It said the label of the drug clearly states that it is a doping substance.
The drug was banned by the Italian medicines agency a few days ago, La Stampa said.
The left-wing daily Il Manifesto said sales of sibutramine were first banned in Italy in 2002. It was then re-authorised for the market but as a prescription drug only, the paper said. Now it has been banned again after EMEA decided there were too may health risks, it added.
HEALTHCARE TOURISM
Around 400,000 patients in southern Italy travel to other regions, especially those in the north, in search of better treatment and therapies, Il Sole 24 Ore's special South supplement (p1) reported on Wednesday.
A growing gap in healthcare provision between different regions is to blame, the paper said.
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[17942] 29/01/2010 12:19 GMT - GENERAL
The paper said the figure, just published by the health ministry, uses the amount spent on the third quarter of last year as a guide.
The national health service's total budget in 2009 was 104.5 billion euros but it is thought that around 109.5 billion euros was actually spent.
According to Il Sole, higher spending on drugs by hospitals has helped fuel the deficit. The paper said that hospital pharma spending is thought to have been 1.7 billion euros higher than was budgeted.
In contrast, spending on drugs distributed through pharmacies fell. The paper cited a survey by the pharmacies association Federfarma, which has 16,000 members. The survey revealed that drugs spending outside hospitals was well within its budget over the first 10 months despite a 3% rise in prescriptions.
The paper suggested that the deficit is bad news for regional health administrations. They will be expected to cover part of the costs, especially hospital drugs spending.
Several regions are already struggling to pay back shortfalls from previous years. Lazio, for example, is struggling to cover a deficit of almost 1 billion euros, Il Sole said.
The region will go to the polls in March to elect a new governor and health spending is going to be one of the main issues.
Friday's Il Messaggero (p34) looked at the candidates and their attitude to a special commissioner's decision to introduce patient charges in Lazio for drugs prescriptions, even for those patients who are currently exempt, and for emergency treatment in hospital.
The centre-left candidate, Emma Bonino, described the measures, which are designed to help eliminate the spending deficit, as "morally unacceptable" especially for the disabled and for patients who are exempt.
The centre-right candidate, Renata Polverini, is also opposed to the idea saying that people in Lazio are already paying the highest local taxes to help cover the deficit.
ABORTION PILL DELAY
The abortion pill RU 486 will not be available in Italian hospitals for another month despite being granted marketing authorisation in December, according to La Repubblica on Wednesday (p19).
The paper quoted Catherine Denicourt, an executive from Exelgyn, the French firm that makes the drug.
She said that the delay has been caused by the need to print new labels in Italian according to the conditions set out by medicines agency AIFA when it approved RU 486. The company is also waiting for AIFA's official stamp to put on the boxes.
"We expect to be ready for the end of February," Denicourt told La Repubblica.
Wednesday's La Nazione (p13) interviewed Massimo Srebot, one of the first gynaecologist to import RU 486 into Italy before it was approved.
He told the paper that Exelgyn had been on holiday when the Italian medicines agency authorised the abortion pill. That was the main reason for the delay in the drug being made available, he said.
Thursday's Avvenire (p18), the Catholic paper which opposed the introduction of RU 486 into Italy, also reported on the delay.
The paper suggested that there may not be much demand for the drug in Tuscany where it was first imported in 2005.
It cited official regional figures which show that the number of abortion patients using RU 486, in combination with prostaglandin, in Tuscany has fallen from 394 in 2006 to just 47 last year.
HPV VACCINATION PROGRAMME
Only three teenagers out of 10 in Italy, who were programmed to have the HPV vaccine, have had all three injections, according to Avvenire on Thursday (p18).
Girls born in 1996 and 1997 qualified to have free HPV vaccination last year, According to a recent report, 61.8% of those born in 1997 and 43.9% of those born in 1996 had the first injection.
But the rate fell off dramatically for the second and third vaccinations, which are necessary for immunisation, the paper noted.
Monday's La Repubblica (p33) said the original target was to give three injections to 95% of all girls born between 1996 and 2001.
However. most regions were still below 50% for girls born in 1996 and 1997, the paper said.
ASTRAZENECA RESEARCH
AstraZeneca is running 55 research projects in Italy in partnership with leading universities and research centres, Il Giornale reported on Friday (p42).
It has invested 10.8 million euros and the projects are aimed at specialised medicines, Nicola Braggio, chairman and CEO of the Italian subsidiary, told the paper.
He said the future of drugs research will be to develop personalised therapies for individual patients, adding that the objective is have the most benefit at a sustainable cost for the national health service.
"We hope that tax on investments in research can be removed and that there will be an acceleration of the approval times for innovative drugs (in Italy)," Braggio explained to the paper.
Il Giornale said that sales in 2009 for AstraZeneca Italy, which has 1,800 employees, were 727 million euros.
H1N1 FLU HELPLINE CLOSES
A helpline set up to provide information and advice about H1N1 flu is closing, Thursday's Avvenire (p10) reported.
The health ministry said the number of calls has fallen to a level where there is no longer any need for the service. However the helpline can be reactivated at any time should it be necessary, the paper explained.
Avvenire said the health ministry's most recent H1N1 flu bulletin showed the number of cases picked up slightly especially among children.
There were 96,000 new cases between 18-24 January, taking the total to almost 4.3 million. There have been 228 deaths.
FOOTBALLER TESTS POSITIVE FOR SIBUTRAMINE
The Romanian international Adrian Mutu tested positive to the weight loss drug sibutramine after a recent game, La Repubblica reported on Friday (p58).
He could face a ban of between 1-4 years if a second test is positive. The player has been suspended and his club, Fiorentina, may cancel his contract depending on the second test, the paper said.
Friday's La Stampa (p52) said that the anti-obesity drug is a powerful stimulant which reduces appetite and fatigue. It said the label of the drug clearly states that it is a doping substance.
The drug was banned by the Italian medicines agency a few days ago, La Stampa said.
The left-wing daily Il Manifesto said sales of sibutramine were first banned in Italy in 2002. It was then re-authorised for the market but as a prescription drug only, the paper said. Now it has been banned again after EMEA decided there were too may health risks, it added.
HEALTHCARE TOURISM
Around 400,000 patients in southern Italy travel to other regions, especially those in the north, in search of better treatment and therapies, Il Sole 24 Ore's special South supplement (p1) reported on Wednesday.
A growing gap in healthcare provision between different regions is to blame, the paper said.
rg/ra
[17942] 29/01/2010 12:19 GMT - GENERAL
