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Health systems in transition
Portugal
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was lowered and pharmacists were permitted to substitute generic equivalents
for brand-named drugs. Reference pricing for pharmaceutical reimbursement
was also introduced in 2003. Moreover, the government enacted new rulings
related to the way prices of new pharmaceutical products are determined, and
established maximum (not fixed) prices.
2.5 Patient empowerment
The National Health Plan highlights the importance and need for patient
empowerment through the adoption of the progressive development of personal
skills towards empowerment.
2.5.1 Patient information
All Ministry of Health institutions have their own web site, with areas designed
specifically to inform patients. These sites include information on available
services and reports on quality of care. Internet coverage of the population is
quite extensive, particularly in the coastal areas, which enables citizens to keep
in touch with the latest news and information. The brand new NHS webpage
(
https://www.sns.gov.pt/) was launched in February 2016 and is one of the
best examples of the link between the Ministry of Health and the citizens (see
section 4.1.4). The new website consolidated features of several institutions
under the Ministry of Health, e.g. the possibility of scheduling a visit at NHS
primary care units, and added new ones, such as information on waiting times
for emergency visits at all NHS hospitals or outpatient consultations both at
NHS hospitals and primary care units.
Another feature of the IT system is the NHS Call Centre “Health 24”
(
Saúde 24
), one of the few P-PPs established by the Ministry of Health. It
started operating on 25 April 2007.
In general, information is available on statutory benefits, patient rights and
prescriptions, to Portuguese citizens (Table 2.2). In some cases (e.g. medical
records), there is a legal obligation to provide information, but, in general, the
information is made available without any normative rule. Several information
campaigns have been put into place to create awareness among citizens about
the available information. The development of websites that provide information
from several health sources (e.g. NHS website) has helped to increase access
to information among patients. Overall, the population is aware of the main
sources of information.