Due to the acute challenges in healthcare a proposal was put forth to create a Healthcare „sub-working group” under the umbrella of the Innovation Policy Task Force by AmCham members Etelka Dobi (Janssen), Gábor Lengyel (Celgene) and Beáta Varga (Johnson & Johnson).
The main reason behind this initiative was that we are facing an entirely new era of scientific advancement and technological change in healthcare, and increased debate around its sustainability in the long term. AmCham Hungary has the benefit of representing various companies of the Innovative life-science sector (biopharmaceutical, medical devices, diagnostics, digital health, tech companies, etc.), therefore it has a broad perspective to contribute to this debate.
Etelka Dobi presented the AmCham EU study „Life Sciences for Europe. An integrated strategy for healthcare innovation (2019-2024)” providing a good starting point to overview the current issues and main areas of the healthcare sector.
It was agreed that communication with the government in respect of the healthcare sector has not been without challenges, nevertheless a constructive approach is needed to have an impact on decision making from the sector’s business representatives. it is crucial to convey the mindset that good healthcare is a vital component of economic growth and is therefore an investment, not a cost. Paying attention to our health is in line with the Hungarian government’s agenda of family focus and also with the security of manpower.