Subject: Costs of bandage materials and elastic garment.
Dear Companies,
as President of the lntemational Society of Lymphology I appeal to you, on behalf of patients with primary and secondary lymphedema, so that you can, within the permitted llimits and according to your economic and financial sustainability, reduce the costs of materials this patient population needs.
As you well know trom lhe officiai WHO data there are about 300,000,000 cases ot lymphedema worldwide; and especially lhe secondary forms with oncological pathology; these forms are progressively increasing in number as the Tumor has become a ‘mass’ disease (especially in some populations) but, also and fortunately ‘a chronic dìsease’, because ot the early diagnosis and the most effective treatments of today compared 10 years ago (with all the consequences this entails for the sequelae, first of ali the secondary lymphedema).
The Consensus Document of the lnternational Society of lymphology underlines how for the treatment of attack and for the maintenance of results over time (in order to allow an acceptable quality of life) the elastocompressive treatmenl and wearing (in a daily manner) of the definitive elastic garment are very imponant.
In a few Countries, national health systems have received recognition that allows a public reimbursement of these materials, bui in many other situations the costs are bome entirely by the citizen/ patient who is forced lo make important sacrifices to control the chronic disease and which is often not even capable of bearing these same costs in relation to one’s ‘standard of living’.
For these reasons, I invite you to consider these observations with an ethical sense and in the respect ot rules ot the free market, and to provide for the possible review of the final costs of the products in order to allow a wider audience (but equally needy) to access the best care they need.
l’m sure of a benevolent consideration of this and I thank you in advance and remain at your disposal tor any clarification / suggestion.
With best regards
The I.S.L Presidenl Dr. Sandro Mìchelini
Here follows the original letter
