The Czech Republic faces an important cancer burden, but the country’s response to cancer is strong so far. Some of the country's strengths include: a well-established, high-quality population-based cancer registry providing a foundation for effective cancer tracking and action, and high-quality Complex Oncology Centres offering specialised care, some with research capabilities. There is also a wide reach of immunisation, screening services and treatments thanks to encompassing health insurance available to the population. Infrastructure is a particular strength as is the availability of skilled healthcare professionals.
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Conclusion
The most visible weakness is regarding a national cancer control plan. Even though a plan exists, it is lacking details on implementation, monitoring and evaluation. An initiative by the Czech Oncological Society, the current plan lacks the leadership of a government agency which could be vital to allocate resources. A new plan is currently in the making, it will be important that it achieves the backing of the health authorities and that it includes the voices of patients. In order to create a cancer control programme that is well coordinated and stable, it should clarify elements such as funding, leadership, timelines, targets, as well as a monitoring and evaluation framework.
While care is regarded as high quality, aspects such as referral to specialised care can be slow, while follow-up services for children survivors and palliative care are not provided in a standardised way. Patient-centred approaches are also to be implemented more consistently across the healthcare system. These are areas that could be emphasised in the new cancer plan. Healthcare funding could be boosted to catch up with the rising cancer demands while the remit of the HTA mechanism could be expanded to cover medicines for hospital use and medical devices.
