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Tag: patients
Ban of the loyalty system for pharmaceuticals on prescription, as well as cancelling of the networks of public pharmacies, is closer to the approval. Members of Parliament have shifted the governmental proposal of the amendment to the act on pharmaceuticals, which includes the mentioned measures, to the second reading. Submitter, Ministry of Health, proposes to delete the clause about the loyalty system, as these measures with marketing character, according to it, weakens the expert and medical character of this activity.
Bonuses and discounts, offered by pharmacies in loyalty systems, will probably end next year. Government has approved the proposal of Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská, which prohibits them. Pharmacies will be able to offer the discounts by over-the-counter pharmaceuticals even after the governmental ban only if they would not mean a bonus for purchasing of prescription pharmaceuticals. If Parliament and President will approve this amendment, also the purchasing of vaccines and determination of the prices of pharmaceuticals on prescription will be changed.
Pharmaceuticals for cardiac, diabetic and allergic patients will be cheaper. Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská is planning from the next year to decrease the surcharges of patients at the expense of health insurance companies. These will annually pay for pharmaceuticals totally € 4 million more than in the past. This is involved in the amendment to the Decree, which Zvolenská intends to submit to the commentary proceeding. Zvolenská is adjusting the rules set by her predecessor Ivan Uhliarik.
81% of Slovaks agree with the possibility of choice of Health Insurance Company (HIC). This results from the survey of TNS Agency, according to which 57% of respondents have expressed the strong agreement with such possibility. The vast majority of respondents, namely 62%, according to the survey consider the control of using of money as a major factor for improving of the situation in healthcare system. It is a public control of resources in the healthcare system, which should be according to the President of the Association of Health Insurance Companies, Katarína Kafková, solved with higher priority than cancellation of health insurance companies.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Health insurance company Dôvera wants to clarify the many-months waiting for some complicated medical procedures. It has launched the internet application www.dovera.sk/cakacie-listiny, where patients may find out how long it is needed to wait for example for total knee or hip replacement, intraocular lens implantation or the reconstructive surgery on the peripheral arteries. Medical procedures can be sorted by hospitals and it is possible to see how long it is necessary to wait for them in average or how many patients are registered in the waiting list.
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.
