Toledo, March 28th 2014.- Today, Toledo hosts the XVII FARMAINDUSTRIA – Spanish Autonomous Regions Forum in which regional officials dealing with pharmacy policies in several Spanish regions, alongside representatives from Farmaindustria, analyze the current situation as far as the national pharmaceutical services are concerned.

The Forum was inaugurated by the Healthcare and Social Services Regional Minister of Castile-La Mancha, José Ignacio Echániz, and FARMAINDUSTRIA’s President, Elvira Sanz. During her intervention, Elvira Sanz stated that it is perfectly compatible to maintain a public healthcare system with the highest quality of standards which are demanded by an advanced society, such as the one we live in, with patient access to the most innovative and appropriate treatments, as well as a development of the industrial activity, generating jobs, exports and added value for our economy.

To this aim, she defended the search for solutions and an understanding scenario between Public Administration and different healthcare stakeholders, thus opening a channel for loyal and transparent collaboration which in turn benefits the feasibility of public healthcare, innovation and, ultimately, improving citizens’ health.

As an example of the industry’s willingness, she referred to the Collaboration Protocol recently signed between the Minister of Health and FARMAINDUSTRIA. This Protocol establishes five fields of action to, collectively, try and advance in the sustainability of Spanish National Health System – in order to make it more efficient, thus guaranteeing the quality of Spanish pharmaceutical services.

“Health is complex and is a result of many factors but, undoubtedly, it is intimately related to the organization and efficacy of healthcare services and the professionals working therein, most especially related to the tools that are placed in their hands to meet the needs of patients, and amongst these tools, are medicines”, stated the President of FARMAINDUSTRIA.

Finally, she thanked the Regional Health Minister for holding the meeting in Toledo and that this was another “example of collaboration”-she added- between those who bear the responsibility of managing healthcare services, and an important ally of the system, such as the pharmaceutical industry, with the objective of tackling common topics of interest to find the highest efficacy and efficiency in the pharmaceutical services offered to the population”.