News

University hospital in Bratislava last week opened in Ružinov the renovated area of central reception. Hospital invested € 362 000 into the renovation. Repairing of central reception was necessary by hygienic-operational, safety and logistic reasons. Several parts and areas were significantly used up and damaged. Department reportedly long-termly did not meet the requirements of the hospital and patients.

34 hospitals and 3 medical institutions will be included into the terminal network of hospitals. Concept of terminal minimum network in Slovakia will be again renewed from October. It will include providers in the scope of Ministry of Health, which are of strategic importance for the state. Health insurance companies will have to make a contract with them. Proposal of the regulation on public minimum network was today approved by Government.

Žilina self-governmental region will enter into negotiations with private doctors from 8 buildings of former polyclinics, where they have been providing the health care. The ninth polyclinic in Liptovský Hrádok will be offered in the public competition. Doctors have expressed their interest in buildings in Kysucké Nové Mesto, Bytča, Turzovka, Liptovský Mikuláš, Martin and Turčianske Teplice.

Current members of Board of directors in the Healthcare Surveillance Authority should be replaced by new people. Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská proposes to withdraw all members including the President and Vice President. This results from the material, submitted to the negotiation of the Government by Minister of Health. As stated in the material, withdrawing of members of Board of directors is proposed in accordance to the results of activities of the office with regard to the current situation in healthcare system and responsibility of the Government for health of Slovak population.

Ten regional hospitals owned by Penta´s company Svet zdravia are subjects to significant changes. Investor is seeking for the way how to economize along with modernization. Central procurement and integration of the management of hospitals should help to fulfil its ambitions. Competencies of directors of particular healthcare institutions are already severely limited. Unsure is also the future of laboratories and pharmacies provided by hospitals. Even this, however, is about to be changed.  

Slovak healthcare system is one step closer to greater informatization. Ministry of Finance as the intermediate body for Operation Programme Information Society has published the written challenge for the project National Health Information System in maximum total value of € 49 million. Financial aid is provided in the form of nonreturnable financial subsidy. Project is co-financed from the European Regional Development Fund.  

Doctors and patients are afraid of the changes in supplementary charges for pharmaceuticals. Ministry claims that in November, the latest in December the supplementary charges could be adjusted again, as it plans to change the Decree prepared by former Minister Ivan Uhliarik. But even before that it will reportedly modify the supplementary charges that patients will pay from October. Ministry wants to discuss on changes of the Decree also with the professional companies, what will slow-down its preparation.  

Supplementary charges of patients should until October according to the representatives of professional medical companies increase by € 51 million. This should be a result of the Decree of Ministry of Health, which has divided a number of pharmaceuticals in Slovak market into the payment groups, so called clusters. Doctors warn that patients will thus have to choose, whether to pay money or waste their health and reach for older, not modern treatment, which they have been using until now.

Expropriation of private health insurance companies, which in the context of creation of one state health insurance company Government concedes, allegedly does not have to be that easy. Analysis of health insurance company Union reportedly says that legal requirements for expropriation are not met. Dutch shareholder of Union health insurance company, Achmea company, already announced its interest to stay in Slovak market and informed also the Government. Government, however, has not been communicating with insurance companies about the preparing changes yet.

Žilina self-government region has decided to offer for sale 9 buildings of former polyclinics to private doctors in an effort to motivate them to stay in these buildings and keep providing health care here. Buildings are situated in Kysucké Nové Mesto, Bytča, Turzovka, Liptovský Mikuláš, Liptovský Hrádok, Martin and Turčianske Teplice. According to the spokesman of the region, Peter Kubica, if private doctors agree with Žilina region, it would mean not only a maintaining of outpatient clinics in current location, but also their further development.