The value of innovation in decision-making in health care in Central Eastern Europe - The Sixth International Conference, 2 June 2017, Belgrade, Serbia.

The Pharmacoeconomics Section of the Pharmaceutical Association of Serbia organised a one day international conference on the value of innovation in decision-making in health care in Central and Eastern Europe. The focus of the conference was on reimbursement decisions for medicines using health technology assessment and the use of managed entry agreements (MEAs). The objectives of this conference were firstly to discuss the challenges and opportunities with the use of MEAs in Central and Eastern European countries; secondly the role of patient registries especially with outcome based schemes, and finally new approaches to improve accessibility to new medicines including better managing their entry.

Suicides among Serbian War Veterans - An Autopsy Study.

INTRODUCTION: The risk of suicide among war veterans is a controversial issue, where findings so far have been contradictory. OBJECTIVE: This study focusses on suicide in Serbian veterans from the wars in former Yugoslavia in the 1990s in order to create appropriate preventive measures and reduce the number of these fatal cases. METHODS: The autopsy protocols of all 44 suicides committed by war veterans in the Belgrade District population over a period between 1992 and 2000 were investigated. Data were obtained from autopsy records, results of toxicological investigations and psychological autopsy protocols. RESULTS: Symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder were present in 27.3%, major depression in 9.1% and schizophrenia in 6.8% of veterans. The majority of suicides (84.1%) were committed by recruits in the Yugoslav National Army, spending between three and eight months in the zone of war operations. Six committed suicide during the first 30 days after their war activities, while the majority of suicides occurred between five and six years after combat. The most frequent manner of suicide was the use of handguns (56.8%) and bombs (18.2%). CONCLUSION: The results of this research may give useful information about the individuals with the highest suicidal risk in order to alleviate the consequences of war psychotraumas in veterans and prevent their growth into a permanent handicap or suicide.