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This paper analyses the health policy response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the four Visegrad countries – Czechia, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia – in spring and summer 2020. The four countries implemented harsh transmission prevention measures at the beginning of the pandemic and managed to effectively avoid the first wave of infections during spring. Likewise, all four relaxed most of these measures during the summer and experienced uncontrolled growth of cases since September 2020. Along the way, there has been an erosion of public support for the government measures. This was mainly due to economic considerations taking precedent but also likely due to diminished trust in the government. All four countries have been overly reliant on their relatively high bed capacity, which they managed to further increase at the cost of elective treatments, but this could not always be supported with sufficient health workforce capacity. Finally, none of the four countries developed effective find, test, trace, isolate and support systems over the summer despite having relaxed most of the transmission protection measures since late spring. This left the countries ill-prepared for the rise in the number of COVID-19 infections they have been experiencing since autumn 2020.

With arrival of highly transmissible Omicron variants in global pandemic, dentistry is facing another challenge to preserve biosafety of dental care. With a mission to protect both patients and healthcare workers, adaptability to the changing epidemiologic situation is required from dental professionals. This work presents a prospective sustainable biosafety setting for routine orthodontic care. The protocol is composed from combination of available technologies focused on the air-borne part of a virus pathway. Introduced biosafety protocol has been clinically evaluated after 18 months of application in the real clinical environment. The protocol has three fundamental pillars: (1) UVC air disinfection; (2) air saturation with certified virucidal oils through nebulizing diffusers; (3) complementary solutions. As a method of evaluation pseudonymous on-line smart form was used. Protocol operates with premise that everybody as a hypothetical asymptomatic carrier. Results from 115 patient feedbacks imply that with this protocol in place, there was no observed or reported translation of virus from patient to another patient or from patient to doctor or nurse and vice versa, albeit nine patients have retrospectively admitted visiting the clinic as probably infectious. Despite promising results, a larger clinical sample and exposition to current mutated strains is necessary for reliable conclusions about protocol virucidal efficiency.

Omicron variant is more invasive against immunity, but it's not more invasive in any change in degree against masks, and indoor air; than previous variants. With its arrival, dentistry is facing another challenge. With a mission to protect both patients and healthcare workers, we are adapting to the current epidemiologic situation and anticipate the incoming change. This article presents an unpublished prospective setting for dental care in the new chapter of pandemics after Omicron variant. Introduced biosafety protocol has been clinically tested for 18 months in the field. Three fundamental pillars of this sustainable biosafety protocol are: (1) UVC air disinfection; (2) air saturation with certified virucidal oils through nebulizing diffusers; (3) telehealth solutions. As a method of evaluation pseudonymous on-line smart form was used. This biosafety protocol is not relying on persons` identification as uninfected; it is designed for environments where healthcare workers or patients are hypothetical asymptomatic carriers. Results from 115 patient feedbacks suggest that with this protocol in place, there was no observed or reported translation of infection from patient to another patient or from patient to doctor or nurse and vice versa, albeit nine of the patients have retrospectively admitted being probably infectious during their dental appointment. The key of this protocol is its clinical sustainability, as full-body protective suits don’t represent sustainable dental care as well as there is no acceptable risk of patients getting infected during dental procedures.

Health care costs are continuously increasing. Multiple myeloma represents approximately 1% of all malignancies and the 5-year prevalence is 230,000 patients on average. In addition, there is an annual incidence of 3.8/100,000 in Slovakia. In total economic burden assessment, it is important to focus not only on direct but also on indirect costs, including the lost productivity due to premature death. Based on the data and information obtained from the key stakeholders the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Labor, the Social Insurance Agency, and NCZI, we provided the assessment of direct and indirect costs. The total cost of the disease for the model patient represents €409,071 from the diagnosis of MM to death. The major cost burden is associated with the treatment, €155,645 followed by the costs of productivity loss due to premature death, €127,611. Cost-of-illness studies provide an important view on the total burden of the disease in specific areas and are necessary for an adequate decision-making process from the regulatory and reimbursement perspective.

This analysis of the Slovak health system reviews recent developments in organization and governance, health financing, health-care provision, health reforms and health system performance. The health care system in Slovakia is based on universal coverage, compulsory health insurance, a basic benefit package and a competitive insurance model with selective contracting of health care providers. Containment of health spending became a major policy goal after the 2008 financial crisis. Health spending stabilized after 2010 but remains well below European averages. Some health indicators, such as life expectancy, healthy life years and avoidable deaths are worrisome. Furthermore, weak hospital management, high numbers of unused acute beds, overprescribing pharmaceuticals, and poor gatekeeping of the system all lead to over-utilization of services and system inefficiency. This suggests substantial room for improvement in delivery of care, especially for primary and long-term care. Additionally, there is inequity in the distribution of health providers, resulting in lengthy travelling distances and waiting times for patients. Given the ageing workforce, this trend is likely to continue. Current strategic documents and reform efforts aim to address the lack of efficiency and accountability. There has been a strong will to tackle these challenges but this has often been hindered by a lack of political consensus over issues such as the role of the state, the appropriate role of market mechanisms and profits, as well as the extent of out-of-pocket payments. Successive governments have taken different positions on these issues since the establishment of the current health system in 2002, and major reforms remain to be implemented.