Issues relating to medical treatment

The availability of medicines in general

Pharmaceutical drugs are either free of charge of partially refunded depending on whether they are on a special list. On average, patients pay 10-14% of the cost of drugs. There are no special groups which receive a higher level of reimbursement. However, older people and disabled people on a low income are not expected to pay more than EUR 30 to EUR 40 per quarter for pharmaceutical products[1].  

The availability of Alzheimer treatments

All four AD drugs are available. Unlike in other countries, memantine is available for people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and not severe Alzheimer’s disease. People who live and lone or in nursing homes have access to the AD drugs.

Conditions surrounding the prescription and reimbursement of AD drugs

The AD drugs are part of the reimbursement system. In order to be eligible for a refund, patients must have been prescribed the drugs by a specialist doctor. This also applies to repeat prescriptions. An MMSE should be carried out.

Issues relating to research

Slovakia is involved in the EU Joint Programme – Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) and is an Associate member of the Joint Action “Alzheimer Cooperative Valuation in Europe (ALCOVE)”.

[1] European Commission (2012): MISSOC – Mutual information system on social protection : Social protection in the Member States of the European Union, of the European Economic Area and in Switzerland : Comparative tables