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Outpatient doctors welcome that resources from € 50 million reserve in state budget will go also to them. According to the President of the Association of Private Doctors, Ladislav Pásztor, all healthcare providers, i.e. hospitals as well as outpatient clinics, should get € 5 million monthly, while € 5.3 million is needed. Private doctors associated in Zdravita and Slovak Medical Chamber already negotiated with General Health Insurance Company (Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa). Supposedly this was an initial negotiation on the new contracts, as the current contracts are valid until June 30th, 2012.

Insurance premium will be probably redistributed among health insurance companies according to the new rules, including PCG predictor. The measure, which should bring more money for state General Health Insurance Company (Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa, VšZP), was approved for the second reading by 98 votes of members of Parliament. The change of redistribution could bring as much as € 30 million annualy for the state owned health insurance company VšZP. Private insurance company Dôvera would, however, lose almost € 22 million and private Union Health Insurance Company will lose almost € 9 million. If approved, legal standard should enter into force in July this year.

Representatives of healthcare organizations in Slovakia today warned of the danger of increasing black sale of counterfeit pharmaceuticals. As they stressed, by the fake pharmaceuticals it is not possible to talk about the healing effects or quality of preparations. As estimated, 50-90% of pharmaceuticals offered on internet is counterfeit. They are imported to Slovakia especially from China and India. Most of fake pharmaceuticals is getting to consumers via Internet.

Smaller hospitals are establishing their own public pharmacies. Until now the public pharmacies in most hospitals were run by private operators. Hospitals want to use the profits from pharmacies to repay debts or purchase new equipment. Hospital is an ideal place for public pharmacy, as there is a large concentration of clients – patients, as well as their relatives. 

Nurses will see money from government reserve on their payrolls at earliest in the autumn. According to the President of the Association of Hospitals in Slovakia, Marián Petko, the amount is sufficient, but hospitals will get money not sooner than in September. Many hospitals promised their nurses the increasing of wages from € 640 to € 926 monthly already in July. Petko, however, doubts this promise. Minister needs for transfer of the reserve the approval of Parliament, which will get to the negotiation on the change of legislation in June. Afterwards she needs a signature of President Ivan Gašparovič.

This week will nurses and midwives get for the first time the wage according to the act, which guarantees its increasing. Hospitals are getting in crisis situations, some of them are talking about the end of departments. Management of hospital in Bojnice guarantees its staff the increasing of salaries according the current legislation. This applies also on 310 nurses and 29 midwives working in hospital. According to the director after increasing of salaries of doctors and current increasing of wages of nurses it is possible to keep the running of hospital under current conditions until the end of June.

After the scandal with selling of blood plasma from Slovakia another one appeared with the export of human tissues. In both cases, not domestic patients, but foreign purchasers received the preference. Part of tissues collected in Slovakia ended in Germany, where they were exported by the private company Tissue Research Institute. The permission for taking and the contract on cooperation with the Healthcare Surveillance Authority was given to company in March 2009. In April this year Authority terminated the contract on cooperation for the breaching of main condition that taken tissues will be used primarily in Slovakia.

Three candidates are applying for the post of the head of Slovak Medical Chamber. Chamber should decide on new President for electoral term 2012 – 2016 on its upcoming assembly. For the position of the President of Chamber was nominated the Vice President of the Chamber Mária Kuniaková, former President of Medical Trade Union Marian Kollár and the Council member of the Chamber Peter Olajoš. Assembly should take place at the beginning of June in Žilina.

Health insurance companies gave last year for their operation less money than in 2010. Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa (General Health Insurance Company) spent on its operation almost € 66 million by the number of policyholders about 3.4 million, what is a € 11 million less than year before. Dôvera had 1.4 milion of clients and for its operation needed € 31 million. Costs increased in Union Health Insurance Company, which spent more than € 10 million. With the number of 400 000 policyholders this insurance company is the smallest one.

Completion of wide Bratislava hospital complex Rázsochy is according to member of Parliament for SDKÚ-DS, Viliam Novotný, inefficient and means defenestration of € 500 million in the situation when healthcare system desperately needs the resources. He admitted that Bratislava hospitals are serving out and it will be necessary to replace them. But he also added that for € 500 million, what are the costs on the completion of hospital Rázsochy it will be possible to build 8 new hospitals. According to Novotný this project will only fill the pockets of sponsors of Smer-SD.