In an effort to combat soaring drug costs, a new advisory council made up of various medical professionals will examine new drugs entering the market to decide if they are cost effective.

Bent Hansen, the regional chairperson from Region Midtjylland, said that the council does not want to pay high prices for medicines that they deem not worth the cost.

“Sometimes we will decide that drugs we are already using are at least as good as the drugs coming onto the market,” Hansen told Dr Nyheder.

Balance is the key
Morten Freil, head of the patient advocacy group Danske Patienter, said that the new council was taking a wrongheaded approach.

“There is a possibility that you are going to say no to something that is better than the existing drugs,” he said.

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Freil said that he recognised that savings needed to be made, but denied the suggestion that either staff or medications needed to be cut.

“It is an unfair to suggest that we can have either the latest medications or sufficient staff,” he said. “A balance of both are necessary.”