The Ukrainian Psychedelic Research Association (UPRA) has shared the recording of its webinar with PAREA, “Advancing ketamine-assisted therapy: international lessons on implementation in public healthcare”. Held on 23 September with the official support of the Public Health Centre of Ukraine’s Ministry of Health, the event brought together perspectives from Ukraine, Norway, the United Kingdom and France.
The discussion focused on the practical experience of integrating ketamine treatment into public healthcare. Racemic ketamine is an established generic medicine, but its off-label use in psychiatry is not yet commonplace. The webinar examined clinical approaches alongside the pathways and reimbursement arrangements needed to make treatment available within public services.
Lowan Stewart, Medical Director of Axon Clinic in Norway, contributed the Norwegian perspective on implementation in reimbursed healthcare. David Erritzoe, Director of the Centre for Psychedelic Research at Imperial College London, addressed progress towards integration into the UK’s National Health Service. Fabrice Jollant, Professor of Psychiatry at Paris-Saclay University and President of the National Union for Suicide Prevention, brought the French perspective on compassionate access to ketamine for suicidal crises.
Iryna Ivanchuk, Department Head at the Public Health Centre of Ukraine’s Ministry of Health, also joined the webinar, which was moderated by Inna Krylovetska. The exchange was organised around what experience elsewhere in Europe could contribute to discussions about access in Ukraine, where unmet mental health needs remain substantial.
For PAREA, the collaboration with UPRA provides a way to connect those discussions with clinicians and researchers working on implementation in other European health systems. The examples concern different services and access arrangements, rather than a single model that can be transferred unchanged.
The recording is available for those who missed the event or would like to revisit the discussion on clinical delivery, implementation and reimbursement.
