HPI

Žilina self-governing region, four regional hospitals and trade unionists are together complaining about the discrimination at the hospitals bail-out and lower salaries compared to state hospitals. On Thursday, they jointly filed the complaint addressed to the International Labour Organization (ILO). ILO's documents about discrimination and therapeutic and preventive care were also signed by Slovak republic.

According to Minister of Health Ivan Uhliarik there is enough pharmaceuticals for patients with cancer in Slovakia. He reacted to the shortage of chemotherapeutic pharmaceuticals in hospital in Banská Bystrica, where on Wednesday instead of treatment patients were sent home. Minister wants the Healthcare Surveillance Authority to check the practice of both hospital and doctor, as he claims that according to available information the mistake was done by them. MoH knew about the shortage of pharmaceuticals already in December and should ensure their special import, but hospital in Banská Bystrica allegedly did not ask for it.

From April 2012 the health insurance companies should get less money for their operation from the public health insurance. Draft legislation by Ministry of Health reduces the limit of operation costs of health insurance companies. Ministry justifies this change with the  economical use of public finances and the need of sustainable healthcare financing. Ministry estimates that this measure could save € 18.4 million annually.

About € 4.7 million less will be directed to the segment of emergency medical services. According to Ministry of Health this should contribute to the more efficient use of public health insurance sources. Saved funds should be used also in hospitals, which will need more resources to cover the wage funds in the frame of increasing of salaries of doctors. New price regulation should enter into force in February. 

Doctors will have higher salaries under the Act valid from the beginning of new year and the Act on minimum wages of nurses and midwives is currently in Parliament. Slovak Trade Union for Healthcare and Social Services, however, wants to defend also the interests of other employees in hospitals. Chairman of the Union asked Minister of Health to convene the tripartite, where he wants to apply for adjustment of salaries for all categories of employees working in hospitals.

According to National Health Information Centre doctors are afraid of implementation of eHealth into the practise and of transferring of documentation into the computers. Doctors allegedly do not believe that this change will simplify their work with the documentation about patient. They will be, however, able to use their current systems, which are already installed in their computers and these will be integrated into the National Health Information System. Another benefit of new system should be electronic signature, which will help to create electronic medical documentation. The system should also, inter alia, avoid the duplication of administrative steps.

According to legislation, wages of doctors will be adjusted twice in 2012, in January and in July. Doctors achieved higher salaries by the nationwide strike. The daily Sme (03/01/2012) reports that for example L. Pasteur University Hospital in Košice will expend € 144 000 more on basic salaries of doctors from the new year. Increasing of basic wages will affect also the overtime payments and hospital emergency services. These will, according to the spokeswoman of hospital, represent further increase of costs by about € 55 700.

Reducing the limit of operation costs of health insurance companies, planned by the Ministry of Health, does not mean that saved money will increase the expenses on health care. According to the private health insurance company Dôvera there are not known rational reasons why the ministry is acceding to this change. State-owned Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa has allegedly no problem with the drafted reduction of the limit. Another private insurance company Union (Eureko-Group) is being neutral.

Increased payments for outpatient doctors, announced by the Association of private physicians, is not a result of current negotiations. Outpatient doctors acquired the increasing of payments by fulfilling of the agreement concluded with Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa in July 2011. The state insurance company promised that doctors, who are the members of civic association Zdravita, will get the increased per-capita and the price of point in case that they will reduce the amount of prescribed pharmaceuticals by 5%. The project will run until July 2012 and its results are evaluated quarterly.

State-owned Emergency and transport medical service Bratislava is in high loss and its management is considering to end the provision of transport of patients without doctor and the termination of contracts with health insurance companies. This step may have impact on all citizens in Slovakia, as there are the top hospitals in Bratislava. If the company terminates contracts with health insurance companies, patients will have to pay full amounts for the transfers.