RAPID RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS ASSESSMENT OF NEW PHARMACEUTICALS FOR THE TREATMENT OF CHRONIC HEPATITIS C.POTENTIAL ETHICAL, ORGANISATIONAL, SOCIAL, AND LEGAL ASPECTS

The implementation of the new pharmaceuticals for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C is currently facing cost and access issues. Less patients than needed are currently treated and many patients are forced to defer effective treatments. Irrespective from real effectiveness of these new drugs, health systems in many countries are facing a huge problem of distributive justice. While these should guarantee individual rights, among which the right to health - in its broader sense that is not limited to healing, but extended to quality of life - they also have to grant equal access new therapies Surmounting it will require collaboration among healthcare providers, drug manufacturers, local and national governments, and other stakeholders. Most urgently there is a need to consider ethical issues linked to access to new therapies and to eligibility criteria. In a setting of restricted access, the selection of patients for immediate treatment or deferral entails strict adherence to established, validated and ethically accountable policies.