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Tag: Ministry of Health
Association of Hospitals in Slovakia considers to attact the constitutionality of the Act, which ensures increasing of their salaries. In case that Association would implement its intention, the proceeding of Slovak Medical Chamber against nurses will be repeated. Slovak Medical Chamber in March filed an action to the General Attorney with the aim to stop the force of law on minimum wages of nurses. President of the Association, Marián Petko, sees no basic difference between both acts. Members of the Association will decide on their Council meeting, whether they will apply to the General Attorney or not.
If the financing of health care should remain next year on the current level and current range of health care should be maintained it would be according to the Minister of Health unsustainable. She accepted that amount of sources for next year depends also on financial condition of the state. As she however highlighted, one thing is the financial condition and the other one are priorities. Ministry is currently trying to continue in savings through pharmaceutical policy, as according to her, the share of finances on pharmaceuticals is still too large.
Private company offering a neonatal screening for ten most common inherited metabolic disorders embarrassed Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská. Company is competing with similar project of state Newborn Screening Centre in Children's Faculty Hospital in Banská Bystrica. Commercial screening, however, has to be paid by parents. According to the Minister of Health Slovakia belongs to the best countries in the neonatal screening and she does not like the replacing of above standard commercial activity for screening.
Way of purchasing of vaccines will be changed again. Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská will probably comprise with the pressure of doctors and pharmacies, which do not agree with the changes made by her predecessor Ivan Uhliarik. Based on the amendment to the act on pharmaceuticals from December last year doctors have to purchase vaccines by themselves and store them in their outpatient clinics. Minister has already negotiated on the change of current situation with representatives of all parties. According to her spokeswoman, Zuzana Čižmáriková, she is ready to solve the tense situation.
Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská wants to give the health care system a vision for at least 10 years. Conception should be formed by separate body – advisory board of Minister, the status of which she wants to introduce in summer. Minister would only be invited. According to the Minister Slovakia has big problems in education, fails to attract the segment of primary care and is also missing the health care professionals. These are the problems, which should be concerned by the advisory board. Working groups should work regardless of what the political direction of the country would be.
Former Minister of Health Ivan Uhliarik last year claimed that prescribing of cheaper pharmaceuticals will bring the savings in amount of € 350 million. These should have, together with higher premium collection from people, ensured enough money for higher salaries of health care professionals. Ministry of Health under the leadership of Zuzana Zvolenská, however, after half year of functioning of new legislation called the Uhliarik's numbers as unreal.
Minister of Health after her accession recalled notices of 17 directors of state hospitals and healthcare institutions for now. The reason of their exchange is, according to the Ministry, their mistakes. Directors were surprised by the argument of mistakes. Exchange of directors of hospitals and other healthcare institutions is automatically repeated after each change of government. According to the analyst of INEKO, Dušan Zachar, it is unnecessary, because these are not the positions, which would directly create the state health policy.
In the Ministry of Health, as well as in several departmental organizations the contracts concluded in previous administration are being reviewed. Ministry still does not want to specify its findings, according to its spokeswoman Zuzana Čižmáriková they will be introduced on the press conference. Contracts are being reviewed also for example in the Operation Centre of Emergency Medical service in Slovakia and in state-owned emergency service in Bratislava.
In the Ministry of Health, as well as in several departmental organizations the contracts concluded in previous administration are being reviewed. Ministry still does not want to specify its findings, according to its spokeswoman Zuzana Čižmáriková they will be introduced on the press conference. Contracts are being reviewed also for example in the Operation Centre of Emergency Medical service in Slovakia and in state-owned emergency service in Bratislava.
The effectiveness of the amendment to the act on health insurance, which should implement the new mechanism of allocating of premiums between health insurance companies and ease the reporting of solvency of insurance companies, is to be shifted. Originally it should have entered into force at the beginning of June, but in June it will only be in the second reading in Parliament. Act should allegedly enter into force around mid-July. This shifting will, according to the Ministry of Health, not affect the new reallocation of premiums, which should bring more money to state General Health Insurance Company (Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa). Money from new reallocation will come to insurance companies as was originally planned, ergo in October.
