—
Tag: physicians
On Thursday, the Decree and Pricing measure of Ministry of Health will enter into force, under which doctors will be able to choose, whether they want to purchase the vaccines from pharmacy or from distributor. Pharmacies will thus loose a part of margin. According to spokeswoman of MoH the aim is that margin would be divided between two subjects – doctor and pharmacy. Doctors, however, are dissatisfied with the new measure and claim that not all of them will use this option. Vaccines are, according to them, expensive and doctors have to wait a long time for their reimbursement from the insurance companies.
Twenty German hospitals will come to introduce themselves to Slovak doctors on the Job Days of Medicine and Health Slovakia fair, which will take place in Bratislava in March 2012. Hospitals want to offer Slovak doctors, nurses and other health professionals the total of 450 work positions. Slovak doctors, who already work in Germany, will also participate on the job fair and will answer the questions of participants.
Health insurance company Dôvera considers the current initiative of outpatient doctors as unnecessary. According to the PR manager of the insurance company the fact, that contract between Dôvera and outpatient doctors ends on March 31st, has been known for a longer time. Contracts will therefore ends regardless of whether doctors terminated them or not. Currently the new contracts are reportedly being negotiated. Dôvera should send the proposal until the end of the month.
Outpatient doctors are terminating their contracts with the biggest private health insurance company Dôvera. The reason is, according to the President of the Association of Private Doctors, low payments. Termination of contracts applies to 3 100 outpatient clinics. This situation will currently not affect the patients, as the termination should be valid from the beginning of April. If doctors will not reach an agreement with the insurance company, they are not excluding protest actions.
Labour inspectors are currently monitoring hospitals if they increased the basis wage of doctors from the beginning of this year. The change of relevant law after last year’s strikes committed the providers of in-patient care to the salary adjustment. The labour inspectors are verifying approximately 80 hospitals during one-day nationwide inspection. Inspectors will also check the procedure of hospitals in the case of withdrawal of notices of doctors.
Minister of Health Ivan Uhliarik today called on Medical Trade Union (MTU) to shortly submit the Code of Ethics of the relationship between doctor and patient and the proposal of anti-corruption measures in hospitals. Trade unionists committed themselves to elaborate these documents in the Memorandum, which ended the last year´s strike action of the doctors. Leader of trade unionists Marián Kollár claims that by the end of this week the final version of these documents should be prepared. After that, Medical Trade Union plans to submit them for discussion.
Association of the Hospitals in Slovakia, which associates small non-state hospitals, is once again highlighting the lack of resources for higher wages of doctors and nurses. After yesterday’s negotiation with private health insurance companies Dôvera and Union, the Association informed that the slight increasing of funds, which have been offered by both insurance companies to the regional hospitals, will not be enough. Association therefore wants the Government to release € 50 million from the state treasury for the Ministry of Health.
Reportedly up to € 37 million may be missing this year to cover increased salaries of doctors and nurses. According to the estimates of health insurance companies, for the increased salaries of doctors and nurses about € 117 million will be needed. Health insurance companies are allegedly expecting that the changes in pharmaceutical policy will save around € 40 million and they will obtain another € 40 million from the higher premium collection.
According to the President of the Association of Private Doctors Ladislav Pázstor, about quarter of GPs for children, one fifth of GPs for for adults and part of pulmonary doctors may terminate their profession. The reason? The recently adopted Act on higher wages of nurses and the fact, that private doctors do not have sufficient resources from the payments of insurance companies. Considering the increase of costs, most at risk are allegedly the rural outpatient clinics. Ministry however claims that the cessation of clinics will not happen because Všeobecná zdravotná poisťovňa increased the payments for these clinics for the 1st quarter of 2012 by 7%.
The right to strike for healthcare professionals will remain intact. The members of Parliament refused the proposal of amendment to the Act on health care providers and related amendments of Penal Code and the Code of criminal procedure, which should have limited the right of healthcare professionals to strike. The proposal prepared by the Ministry of Health was criticized by several members of Parliament. The withdrawal of the registration for the performance in the case of violation of the law was considered as excessive penalty.
