WHO has been working with health authorities in the Republic of Moldova to promote the use of digital tools to enhance data-driven policies and the cost-effective use of public funds and human resources and improve the population’s access to essential medicines.
This is part of a Ministry of Health initiative to strengthen the e-health infrastructure in the country, which also includes the establishment of digital governance and the use of digital tools in epidemic surveillance. These initiatives are possible with the support of European Union (EU)-funded projects.
Better monitoring of drug prices
The Republic of Moldova ensures that its citizens do not pay excessive amounts for medicines by using a tool that regularly monitors the prices charged in European reference countries. The mechanism was developed with WHO and EU support and allows automated aggregation of drug prices published by several European countries. The Medicines and Medical Devices Agency of the Republic of Moldova uses the tool for setting maximum prices for medicines on the Moldovan market, thereby ensuring their availability and affordability for patients.
“The introduction of this automated monitoring allows us to optimize the time of our staff and increase the speed of response to price registration requests coming from pharmaceutical companies, thus increasing the variety and affordability of medicines available to patients,” says Dr Dragoș Guțu, Director General of the Medicines and Medical Devices Agency.
The number of medicines reimbursed to patients in the Republic of Moldova has doubled in the last decade, making this automated aggregation of drug prices even more important.
More time to spend with patients
The adoption of digital tools in drug reimbursement schemes has the potential to facilitate patients’ access to the medicines they need, while minimizing overall costs. WHO continues to provide technical support to the National Health Insurance Company of the Republic of Moldova, analyzing the flow of data generated to optimize drug reimbursement decisions in the country. The electronic prescription system for reimbursed medicines was operationalized by the Republic of Moldova in 2024.
“The operationalization of e-prescription is a big step forward for Moldova, reducing the time both doctors and patients spend with bureaucratic activities,” says Ion Dodon, Director General of the National Health Insurance Company.
"Everyone is talking about AI [artificial intelligence] these days, and certainly this new technology is already changing the face of modern medicine. But scaling up this technology to the level of national health-care systems requires significant time and financial resources that are not quick to mobilize. Until then, we have at our disposal efficient digital automation solutions that can increase the value of the time spent on daily tasks by the most important resource: health-care professionals. We don’t need to wait to implement such tools,” says Dr Vlad Mixich, WHO Universal Health Coverage Adviser on Health Policy in the Republic of Moldova.
Continuing support
During recent meetings held at the beginning of 2025 between Rasmus Gjesing, Regional Advisor on Access to Medicines and Health Products at WHO/Europe, and the heads of the health authorities of the Republic of Moldova, a series of activities were agreed through which WHO/Europe will continue to support the Republic of Moldova with the digitalization of pharmaceuticals-related activities.
All these activities are made possible thanks to the financial support of the European Commission, and they embody WHO/Europe’s values and strategy under the European Programme of Work 2020–2025.