The SEMG believes that the recent measures agreed by the Interterritorial Council does not act at the root of the problem.

Barcelona, 2011-July the Spanish society of General physicians and family (SEMG) comes repeatedly, expressing his concern and commitment to the sustainability of the national system for health (NHS). For this reason, measures aimed at the consolidation and improvement will have the support of our scientific society.

Recently, the Ministry of health, Social Affairs and equality, together with the representatives of the autonomous communities, agreed, within of the Interterritorial Council (IC), a series of proposals which should be analysed with caution resulting from a lack of information beyond what is published in the media, and waiting for the necessary policy development to ratify.

We appreciate that, for the first time, the Interterritorial Council addresses explicitly the sustainability of the NHS although we had hoped that the measures agreed to act at the root of the problem. However, we regret that, once again, not so address in its integrity and magnitude, confined to isolated proposals, repeatedly related with pharmaceutical spending, which can have a one-off impact without the occurrence of an integrated approach to propose structural reforms, management and financing, and acting on the pockets of inefficiencysufficiently demonstrated.

We believe that any measure that contributes to sustainability must focus on the patient, count with consensus and participation of stakeholders, scrupulously respected the free prescription, the applicable law and, moreover, guarantee the quality while preserving fairness.

Therefore, without going to assess drug price policies, unrelated to our activity as a scientific society, express, once again, our commitment to the freedom of prescription linked always to the medical Act, based on the best scientific evidence and the constant updatingwhich allow, in a free and responsible, opt for the best option in the therapeutic armamentarium.

The information published on the above agreement of the CI with the proposal for a prescription for active principle, do not seem to guarantee is important aspects such as the fármaco-apariencia, i.e., a patient keep the same drug during their treatment, which could create great confusion causing his distrust and an increase of therapeutic failureespecially in chronic patients and polimedicados.

We also think it is hardly justifiable, equal in price, not to prescribe a brand name drug. We consider essential to guarantee the quality of the system and, of course, preserving access to therapeutic innovations adopted so far by the Central Administration. The proposal for the participation of the AA CC in its adoption seems adequate, without that there should be limitations other than the scientific evidence and good practice.

For the rest of agreed measures, we welcome consensus in the implementation immediately the TIS (electronic prescription, digital medical history) and especially by the single health card, but we fear that, given such profound differences between the CC AA at the current pace of implementationin the proposed term would be infeasible.

Finally, we reiterate that any budget increase is welcome, but it must be finalist; in other words, devoted exclusively to health, as well as the potential savings that may arise in the improvements in management, pharmaceutical spending, etc., and, of course, must have intended to maintain the fairness of the SNS.

Board policy of the Spanish society of General physicians and family (SEMG)