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Chambers of healthcare professionals call for adoption of legislation changes, which would strengthen their competencies. They would welcome the compulsory membership or greater participation in matters related to the exercise of their profession. According to the Vice President of Slovak Pharmaceutical Chamber, Ondrej Sukeľ, for each healthcare profession there should be the concrete professional legislation defined. He notes that the current law does not respect the differences of particular professions and does not bring any competences for Chambers, only the responsibilities. 

Slovak Medical University in Bratislava is in these days completing the realization of the project of its developement, for which it received € 564 000 from EU funds. Developement Program was launched in May 2010 and its result is an implementation of e-learning form of education, strentgething of teaching skills of teachers and post-graduants or creating of learning program focused on improving of the quality of science and research work of teachers and post-graduants. 

Ministry of Health plans in the proposed amendment to the act on pharmaceuticals to order pharmaceutical companies to provide Ministry with the list of meetings with doctors. Ministry would afterward publish it on its website. Producers of generic pharmaceuticals do not like this measure, as it will according to them worsen the business environment. Legal standard should after approving by the Government, Parliament and after signing by the President enter into force on July 2, 2013.

Slovak Association of Pharmaceutical Companies Oriented to the Research and Development warns that valid acts as well as Code of Ethic of the Association expressly prohibit pharmaceutical companies to pay leisure and relaxing activities for doctors and healthcare professionals. This is set by current act on pharmaceuticals and medical devices and even proposed changes would not change it. Pharmaceutical companies want and suggest that the rules of the support of professional events should be transparent.

Total wage costs only on doctors in L. Pasteur University Hospital in Košice in June this year amounted to approximately € 1.15 million. After July increasing the hospital will pay extra € 50 000. Hospital increased the salaries only to doctors who did not reach the lower level of wage set by the amendment to the act on healthcare providers. Hospital this way equalized the minimum basic wage of 332 doctors. According to the spokeswoman, the management of hospital is consistently seeking for the financial reserves. 

All three health insurance companies operating in Slovakia have in the first half of this year reached the profit. The biggest profit was reached by state Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa (General Health Insurance Company), which by the end of June showed the profit in amount of € 17.9 million. According to its spokeswoman, however, this insurance company has reached lower profit than was expected. It was affected especially by spending of higher amounts by the healthcare providers in the season of increasing of salaries of doctors and nurses.

Slovak Union of Sclerosis Multiplex has resigned from the petition launched in June this year. Patients with sclerosis multiplex required in this petition the change of indication restrictions of terminally ill patients and approving of the pharmaceutical for gait disturbance. Representatives of the Ministry, according to the President of the Union, Jarmila Fajnorová, on the meeting clarified the ambiguities and promised to help patients with problems with the treatment. Sclerosis Multiplex Union Nádej, which has initiated the launching of petition, however, continues in collecting of signatures.

Second increasing of wages was not applied to all doctors. Hospitals were adjusting the salaries only to those, who until now did not reach the minimum wage set by the law. In the case of unattested doctor it is € 923, the attested doctor should receive at least € 1 461. Such an increasing was gained in their last year's nationwide strike.

According to the representatives of Slovak Chamber of Nurses the prolonging of external study in the Universities will not bring anything to nurses, it will only pull more money out of their pockets. For one year of a study of nursing they pay from € 700 to € 1 300, depending on university. Bachelor study should be prolonged by one year and master study by two years. This is proposed in the amendment to the academic act made by Minister of Education, Dušan Čaplovič.  

Healthcare professionals should next year get more money again. Former Government paid 4% for its policyholders and the same percentage is currently assumed also by the first proposal of the budget of actual Government. Healthcare system should totally get from the insurance and from state by almost 4% more than last year, what means more than € 150 million. It should be enough for covering of higher salaries of nurses and doctors. Estimations were about € 100 – 150 million per year.