Doctor slams Serbian president over medicine allocation

Serbian doctor Dragan Delić has strongly criticized President Aleksandar Vučić's intervention in the allocation of innovative medicines, stating that a layman should not dictate treatment priorities.

Delić, a doctor and member of the Srbija centar (SRCE) party, argued that decisions regarding innovative therapies for severely ill patients must be made by medical professionals and relevant health institutions. He pointed to the existence of specialized republican expert commissions and the Central Commission for Medicines within the Health Insurance Fund, emphasizing that all procedures are legally regulated.

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It is professionally unacceptable and carries significant ethical problems for a layman to determine who will receive innovative therapy at this moment and to bypass the expertise of professionals.

"It is professionally unacceptable and carries significant ethical problems for a layman to determine who will receive innovative therapy at this moment and to bypass the expertise of professionals," Delić stated. He stressed that these are not bureaucratic but legal, professional, and ethical procedures that must be followed.

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If there are not enough medicines for everyone, then priorities are set according to the severity of the illness. For a layman to determine who will receive innovative therapy at this moment and to bypass the expertise of professionals is professionally unacceptable and carries significant ethical problems.

Delić also drew a stark comparison between Serbia's access to innovative drugs and that of other European nations. He noted that Serbia only has about 10% of approved innovative drugs on its positive list, compared to 40% in Montenegro, 70% in Croatia, 90% in Bulgaria, and 95% in Germany. The approval process in Serbia can take over two years, while in Germany it takes approximately 128 days.

The doctor urged medical professionals to speak out against being bypassed by the president, suggesting that if Vučić is to make such decisions, the existing medical commissions should resign. He believes Vučić lacks the necessary education and information to make these critical choices, questioning the purpose of expert committees if a layman is to override their judgment.

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If Vučić is making treatment priorities for patients, then the question arises as to why there are doctors on the expert commissions? They should resign from their positions because it is obvious that a layman will do it 'much better, more professionally, and more efficiently' than them.