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site.btaHealthcare forum debates funding, staffing and access to medicines. Panelists at the 13th National Healthcare Forum NEXTGEN HEALTH, at Inter Expo Center, Sofia, April 3, 2026 (BTA Photo/Borislava Bibinovska) 03.04.2026 12:41 Experts and institutional representatives discussed problems in healthcare and possible solutions at the 13th national healthcare forum NEXTGEN HEALTH on Friday. Participants included representatives of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), the professional organizations of doctors and pharmacists, and hospitals. NHIF Governor Petko Stefanovski said the solidarity-based health insurance model was best suited to serve all segments of society and was being continuously updated to address emerging problems. He added that it remained the most suitable model for Bulgarian society. Bulgarian Medical Association Chair Nikolay Branzalov said the healthcare system was plagued by chronic imbalances at all levels and a lack of strategic vision. He pointed to a persistent imbalance between hospital and outpatient care, as well as unrealistic public expectations about what the system should provide, how much should be allocated to prevention, and how much should be set aside for screening. "Let us stop repeating the same old talking points about the budget," Branzalov said, adding that Bulgaria ranked last in Europe in NHIF payments. He noted that every second Bulgarian was paying out of pocket and asked whether, under such circumstances, the system could truly be considered adequately funded. He also recalled the medical association's proposal to increase health insurance contributions in order to reduce patients' co-payments. Bulgarian Hospital Association Deputy Chair Tsvetelina Spiridonova said Europe had one hospital for every 23,000 people, a ratio that also applied in Bulgaria, but noted that the country surpassed developed European states in the number of hospital beds. She said no action was being taken to curb the grey sector, with people either not paying insurance contributions at all or insuring themselves on the minimum wage while still receiving treatment free of charge. Spiridonova also commented on healthcare staffing, saying the workforce was in fact available, but that a series of flawed policies had led Bulgaria to train too few nurses, even though they could work in crèches and kindergartens, private nursing practices, and other settings. She added that planning had to look 10 years ahead, otherwise hospitals would be left without doctors and nurses. Association of the Research-Based Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Bulgaria Director Deyan Denev said Bulgaria was running its healthcare system on EUR 1,000 per capita, compared with EUR 3,000 in Europe. He said the country devoted just 5% of its economy to healthcare, leaving the system too underfunded to meet public expectations. Denev added that Bulgaria's average age was 42 and rising, while demand for health services increased sharply after the age of 45. He said the healthcare system would require additional resources. "We will shift the burden either onto patients or onto industry, but companies are being discouraged from bringing new therapies to the Bulgarian market, even though innovative treatments account for about two-thirds of the increase in life expectancy," Denev said. Bulgarian Pharmaceutical Union Chair Dimitar Marinov said that if medicine prices in Bulgaria were not low, the products would not be exported. He added that medicines in the country were highly affordable. Marinov said there was a serious problem with pharmacies' access to medicines, as each wholesaler independently decided how much stock to supply to individual pharmacies. As a result, not all pharmacies had access to certain medicines, leaving patients without access as well. He said the union had proposed a solution: a system that would guarantee patients access to a medicine at the pharmacy of their choice. At present, patients went from one pharmacy to another until they found the product they needed, but the goal was for them to be able to visit their preferred pharmacy and be guaranteed access to the prescribed medicine. That, he said, would encourage competition among pharmacies as well as wholesalers. "We believe that only competition, but competition under rules, can lead to good results," Marinov said.

No more prescription ping-pong: optimizing medication management at HIMSS26. March 17, 2026 | 4 min read HIMSS26 wrapped up last week, with over 25,000 healthcare professionals converging in Las Vegas to explore the innovations shaping the future of care. DrFirst came with big news and real-world proof that its approach to optimizing medication management is making a meaningful difference for patients and providers. At the show, DrFirst, Inc. heard a common frustration across conversations with providers, pharmacists, and health system leaders: The prescribing process too often resembles a game of ping-pong. A script goes out, but it can't be filled due to incorrect or incomplete information. That begins a volley of phone calls and faxes to rework prescription details, causing delay and frustration for the care team, the pharmacy, and most importantly, the patient who's waiting to start therapy. Its message at HIMSS was simple: It doesn't have to be that way. DrFirst helps get prescriptions right the first time, with no rework. That includes actionable decision support at each step of the prescribing workflow, clean scripts that are ready to fill, less prior authorization friction, and faster time to therapy. The 750,000 providers, 2,000 hospitals and health systems, and 270 EHR partners in its network - collectively reaching 110 million patients last year - rely on DrFirst, Inc. to reduce rework, burden, and abandonment so patients start and stay on their medications for the best outcomes. Prescription Engagement Gets an Upgrade In Las Vegas, DrFirst, Inc. had the chance to demo the redesigned version of RxInform, its prescription engagement platform that sends a HIPAA-compliant text message to patients on behalf of their provider minutes after a script is sent to the pharmacy. The new experience replaces static content with a guided, dynamic interface that responds to each patient's individual choices. Engaging patients about their medications is important because non-adherence is one of healthcare's most persistent and costly challenges. Up to 25% of patients never start the therapy their provider prescribes, and about half don't take medications as directed. RxInform addresses this gap by texting patients on behalf of their provider with medication education, financial savings, specialty medication support, and personalized pickup reminders. The platform now earns an 88% engagement rate and is helping providers meet Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) quality metrics tied to medication adherence and hospital readmission rates. Because messages arrive from the prescriber, they extend the clinical relationship beyond the point of care, strengthening trust between patients and their providers. NextGen + DrFirst: Bringing Prescription Engagement Into the EHR Workflow DrFirst, Inc. also announced a new partnership with NextGen Healthcare. Physician practices using NextGen(R) Enterprise EHR will now have access to RxInform directly within their existing e-prescribing workflow, with no extra steps and no added friction. This partnership is designed to close the gap between the moment a prescription is written and when a patient receives it from the pharmacy. For practices focused on value-based care and quality outcomes, that gap has real clinical and financial consequences. Now they have a proven tool to address it, built right into their EHR. Real-World Proof: When Patients Get the Information They Need HIMSS featured more than 600 educational sessions, drawing clinicians, informaticists, and health system leaders eager to bring evidence-based insights back to their organizations. One session was delivered by Ben Long, M.D., Director of Hospital Medicine at Magnolia Regional Health Center. Dr. Long presented findings from a peer-reviewed study examining patients with a primary diagnosis of congestive heart failure who were prescribed medications during a hospital stay. The research compared prescription fill rates and readmission outcomes between patients who engaged with automated SMS messages sent via RxInform and those who did not. The findings were significant: Patients who interacted with the SMS nudges showed 19% higher odds of filling their prescriptions and 6% lower odds of being readmitted to the hospital compared to those who did not engage with the messages. The strongest impact was on readmitted patients: Those who engaged with text reminders showed a 52% increase in odds of filling prescriptions. The session drew on real implementation data and offered practical guidance for other health systems thinking about how to deploy text-based adherence programs effectively. It was a powerful reminder that DrFirst solutions are delivering measurable results. Fewer Bounce-Backs. Better Adherence. Positive Outcomes. When prescriptions bounce back and adherence is left to chance, everyone loses. DrFirst breaks that cycle so prescriptions arrive at the pharmacy ready to fill and providers have automated solutions for staying engaged with patients. Want to learn more about RxInform and what it could mean for your organization?