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Ministry of Health has submitted to Government the amendment to the act on pharmaceuticals contrary to the legislation rules. This is claimed in the statement of company Mirakl – the provider of pharmacy network Dr. Max. Ministry should have, according to this company, submitted to Legislative Council which is an advisory body of the Government the amendment to the act without the mandatory information about why it did not satisfy the public comment. In this comment 7 781 citizens have objected to the prohibition of loyalty systems in pharmacies. 

The vast majority of hospital doctors is asking the Government to fulfil the Memorandum, as has been agreed last year, including the third wave of increasing of their salaries. According to doctors, this level of increasing of wages would not require € 40 million as was presented by Ministry of Health and in case of fulfilling of Memorandum the increasing of salaries will not burden the state budget. 

Some doctors are involved into the rivalry of health insurance companies for obtaining of policyholders. They are encouraging their patients to leave private health insurance company and convert into the public one. Activities of doctors should support the effort of Government to create the only one health insurance company. Peter Lipták from Slovak Medical Chamber called on his colleagues for the similar effort through e-mail. The largest private health insurance company Dôvera wants to defend through the legal action. 

Health insurance companies will return people for the second quarter of this year € 373 494 for surcharges. In the frame of protection limit on surcharges the money will be returned to 21 685 pensioners and disabled. This results from the information of health insurance companies. Policyholders will get this money automatically to their accounts or through the order, it is not necessary to ask for them. Health insurance companies are returning money in the frame of protection limit for the fifth time.  

Money for increasing of salaries of healthcare professionals in Slovakia are available. Accroding to the former President of Health Comittee, Viliam Novotný, former Government has prepared the sources for covering the higher salaries of doctors and nurses. These money should, according to him, come from higher collection of health insurance, savings through pharmaceutical reform or from € 50 million reserve in state budget. Minister of Health, however, claims that former Government did not ensure any money for increasing of salaries. 

Policyholders of private health insurance company Dôvera can newly be informed on the approval of planed operation in hospital via message. First they get a message informing them whether hospital announced the operation to insurance company or not, what usually takes 48 hours. Second message will be sent in the case of approval of hospitalization and afterwards they will wait for the date of accession set by hospital. Policyholders may also choose to get this information via e-mail or by message in electronic branch.

The aim of new conceptual program named Prevent dialogue is to start on all levels in Parliament the debate and subsequently the programs on prevention of diseases. As today informed by the President of National Council for Health, Richard Raši, the activities focused on prevention before diseases, which according to statistics and social significance most affect the citizens of Slovakia, aim to provoke the expert debate across the Parliament. This discussion should be in cooperation with experts from various fields of medicine.

Pharmacists influence a fifth of patients in Slovak and Czech republic by choosing of pharmaceutical. The degree of their impact varies depending on particular types of diseases. This results from the study of GfK company on key factors and role of pharmacist by choosing of pharmaceutical, which have made the research on the sample of 2 000 respondents from Slovakia and Czech republic. According to this research, Slovak pharmacists have a little more intensive impact to the decision making of patients and also often offer the alternatives to the prescribed pharmaceutical.

Association of Health Insurance Companies welcomed the effort of state General Health Insurance Company (VšZP) to decrease the number of patients on waiting lists. According to the President of the Association, Katarína Kafková, it is a confirmation of the fact that pluralistic system of insurance companies in Slovakia is important. This promise according to her added VsŽP to the standard activities of private insurance companies, which have money for operations in budgets. According to Kafková, however, there are concerns if the state insurance company will be able to fulfil its promise.  

Ministry of Health reportedly does not have any arguments for cancellation of loyalty systems in pharmacies or justification for refusing of public comment for their remaining, which has been already signed by 7 700 people. Representatives of Dr. Max pharmacies believe that Government will notice the missing arguments by discussing on this material. Meanwhile they have launched the petition for preserving of loyalty systems. As was, however, announced by Zuzana Zvolenská, Ministry insists on the ban of loyalty systems.