Innovative medicines are advancing treatment from oncology to psoriasis, but the Slovak system is keeping pace only slowly. Experts warn about delayed processes and at the same time show that smart investments in medicines, data, and clinical studies return patients to work and save future costs. The message is clear: innovation is a prerequisite for sustainable healthcare.
Where healthcare is stuck—and where hope shines
After last year's halt to the categorization of new medicines, the process has only recently moved again: in March, the first two products were added (an oncology one for metastatic cervical cancer and a biologic for relapsing/refractory multiple myeloma). In the meantime, however, Slovak patients waited half a year without new options—while, for example, in the Czech Republic, modern therapy for advanced Parkinson's disease has been available since March of last year. System-level glimmers of hope exist, but everything is delayed, often by years, including the absorption of investment funds. The risk is that in times of crisis, money flows elsewhere and innovation retreats again.
The discussion also reminded that spending on medicines accounts for approximately 19–21 % of the healthcare budget and is relatively manageable. Experts estimate that a reasonable year-on-year growth in spending on medicines should be around 5–7 %, which should help narrow the gap in therapy availability. Preliminary figures also show that total spending on medicines in 2024 tracked expectations. The key, however, is to spend in a way that outcomes are measured and pay back in the form of lower morbidity and a faster return to work.
What innovations are already proving for patients
Modern therapies have changed care across multiple diagnoses. Hepatitis C is today curable in the vast majority of cases thanks to treatment, and survival has increased markedly in melanoma and some leukemias. In diabetes, new antidiabetics and anti-obesity drugs improve cardiometabolic risk and also bring sustained weight loss, which translates into fewer complications. In ulcerative colitis and other inflammatory bowel diseases, it makes sense to deploy more effective treatment earlier to prevent hospitalizations and surgeries.
Psoriasis is a textbook example of a shift in therapeutic goals: from "alleviation" to "clear skin" in the majority of patients, along with lower cardiovascular risk. In rheumatology, the goal is remission, not just dampening inflammation, and new drugs achieve this in a large share of patients. Fewer heart attacks, bypasses, or rehospitalizations mean savings for the system and a higher quality of life. The economic dimension is evident in oncology as well: the average length of sickness absence among women with breast cancer is around 210 days—earlier and more targeted treatment shortens the return to work.
How to invest wisely: data, clinical studies, and artificial intelligence
Slovakia has tools to control the value of medicines (cost-effectiveness, risk-sharing agreements), but lacks comprehensive impact measurement. Experts are calling for the linking of health and social data and for patient registries that will show the real benefits of treatment. The first "fiscal" impact analysis in multiple myeloma suggested that investment in innovative therapy can pay back through taxes and lower transfers. To make this happen at scale, a stable, 10–15-year cross-ministerial vision is needed.
Clinical studies have great potential—with sensible simplification and centralization of contracts, there could be more of them, bringing top-tier treatment to patients and income to hospitals. Estimates say that clinical trials have already delivered tens of millions of euros and helped thousands of patients. AI helps as well: the ministry has procured auto-contouring in radiotherapy, and in total more than 2100 AI systems have been approved as medical devices. Developing a tool to process oncology records in Slovak costs approximately 1,5–2 million euros—a sum that is small compared to the value of the data. Catching up with Czech-level access to innovation will, however, take years; it won't be possible without a long-term strategy and national projects.
