Arsen Torosyan reported to the Armenian government on the work done  by the Ministry of Health in 2019

ArmInfo. Under the chairmanship of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, a meeting was held in the government, at which the results of activities in the healthcare  sector in 2019 were summed up, according to the government's program  for 2019-2023.

As ArmInfo was told in the press service of the RA Prime Minister,  Minister of Health of Armenia Arsen Torosyan presented a report on  the implementation of activities on all 14 events.  In particular, a  report was presented on the work done in such areas as: healthy  lifestyle; fighting the most common diseases; improving the quality  of medical care and services provided to the population; improving  women's health; ensuring access to rehabilitation medical care for  children; provision of high-quality medical care in the regions and  development of the e-health system.

Torosyan presented in detail information on the current work related  to comprehensive health insurance, the development of a draft  national program for tuberculosis management for 2021- 2025, in the  center established at the end of 2019, as well as the revision of  legal acts related to the requirement for drinking water in the  Republic of Armenia. The Minister of Health noted that the draft  government decision "On the approval of the list of priority measures  of the National Immunization Program for 2021-2023" is under  development.

The Minister also informed that since January 2019, by decision of  the government, the list of citizens from vulnerable groups has been  expanded in terms of receiving medical services. As a consequence,  according to him, about 400 thousand citizens included in the list of  socially vulnerable groups or and certain (special) groups of the  population, began to use the opportunity to receive an improved  package of medical care, including for 18 types of the latest  expensive services.

According to him, since January 2020, within the framework of the  programs "Medical services for military personnel, as well as rescue  service personnel, and their families", "Obstetric medical services"  and "Emergency heart surgery", medical organizations are funded on  the principle of an unlimited budget, in exchange for the work  actually done. In accordance with the established procedure, offer  agreements were concluded.

It is also reported that since January 2019, surgical treatment of  patients with malignant neoplasms has been carried out entirely  within the framework of the state order, as a result of which the  number of visits has increased 3.4-fold.

Since July 1, 2019, radiation processing by a medical linear  accelerator with a power of 15 MeV (megaelectronvolt) and above is  carried out entirely within the framework of the state order. In the  past, this was done on a co-payment basis. Since the beginning of the  program, 1024 sessions have been performed.

Since April 2020, the coefficient of insecurity of a family eligible  for medical care within the framework of the state order has become  "28.01" instead of the previous "30.01".

As a result of the provision of free urgent cardiological services,  the volume of operations performed under the state order increased by  22%.

Since March 2020, prenatal monitoring of pregnant women has been  improved, and opportunities for screening high-risk women in labor  have been expanded to reduce reproductive losses, including  miscarriages, intrauterine deaths, stillbirths, perinatal maternal  mortality and congenital malformations.

In 2020, a contract was signed with the world's leading manufacturer  of insulin preparations, the Danish pharmaceutical company Novo  Nordisk A / S, due to which, during 2020-2022, insulin preparations  will be provided on an ongoing basis to approximately 20,560  insulin-dependent patients registered in the Republic of Armenia and  Republic of Artsakh.  

For the treatment of children and adolescents suffering from  childhood oncohematological diseases, from February 2020, instead of  the previous 14 names of drugs, will be purchased 25. Twelve cancer  drugs have already been purchased and are being provided to eligible  patients free of charge.

Torosyan also touched upon the five-year strategy for the development  of the RA healthcare system, noting that it is being developed and  will be presented to the office of the Prime Minister in the near  future.

Pashinyan, in general, expressed satisfaction with the results of the  activities of the Ministry of Health, noting that the existing  problems in this area are of a strategic nature, and their solution  should be achieved through the adoption of the above strategy and the  implementation of the measures envisaged by it. The RA Prime Minister  stressed the need for follow-up measures to improve the efficiency of  the primary health care system, ensure access to medical services and  fully implement the e-health system.

During the meeting, the parties touched upon the current situation  related to the coronavirus and further activities in this area.