—
Tag: physicians
The most influential medical organization, Slovak Medical Chamber, has a new leader from Saturday. Delegates of Žilina concilium chose for a President the main face of last year´s strikes of doctors, Marián Kollár. He won unexpectedly smoothly in the first round, in which he clearly beat other candidates from previous management. Kollár until March headed the medical trade union, which last year unleashed the biggest strike of doctors in the history of the country. New management of the Chamber is concerning part of politicians, who are afraid, that Chamber might be changed into the trade union organization.
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.
Police investigator declined complaints on representatives of Medical Trade Union for extortion and other crimes, which should have beed comitted in the event of collective dismissals of doctors. Complaints were submitted by about 20 people late last year and at the beginning of this year. Besides extortions the complaints considered also for example allegations of heavy coercion, terorism, sabotage, breaching of the duties by the dire distress or imposing against Slovak Republic. Investigator declined them by one order in February.
Slovak Medical Chamber launches free educational portal for doctors, i-med.sk. Doctors will find there hundreds of lectures and articles from all areas of medicine, recordings from conferences or videos from operations. Chamber obtained for the creation of portal almost € 1 750 000 from European Social Fund, it used about half of it so far. According to the President of the Chamber, Milan Dragula, it will be the biggest e-learning portal in Slovakia.
Initiative for awareness of the risks of vaccination claims that doctors are forced to act like denunciators by the vaccination and parents, who have legitimate concerns about the health of their children, are criminalized. According to this Initiative the Office for Personal Data Protection exceeded the level of its competence and is replacing the activities of lawmakers. In the case, if parent refuses to vaccinate his/her child, the threating doctor has to report it to the Regional Public Health Office. Initiative wanted to highlight the illegality and the protection of personal data and required in December last year, to delete this proceeding from the proposed amendment to the Decree of Ministry of Health.
Private doctors do not want to send the documents on issued sick-calls to Social Insurance Company electronicaly, but prefer traditional mail. They claim that they will fill in the formulares through internet only in case if the social insurance company pay them for it. Workers of Social Insurance Company are transcribing the documents from doctors into the computers manually for now. From begining of May the Social Insurance Company started the operation of electronical transmission of documents. Only small number of doctors expressed the interest in this form. For example in Trenčín region there are only 10% of them.
For law granted salaries of nurses and doctors until the end of the year it will be necessary about € 107 million more, than is covered by current system. In 2013 it will be, as estimated, € 175 million. According to the spokeswoman of the Ministry these numbers are based on data available on Ministry of Health and can be exactly calculated only for those healthcare institutions, which are in the scope of the Ministry. Lack of resources for higher salaries of healthcare professionals the Minister of Health Zuzana Zvolenská will currently cover by the reserve from state budget in amount of € 50 million.
Slovak Medical Chamber is trying again to stop the force of law, which from April mandatorily increases wages of nurses and midwives. Chamber therefore turned to the President of Parliamentary Health Comittee Richard Raši, who received more than 1 000 letters with the request of health care providers, members of Slovak Medical Chamber, for suspension of legal norm until it will be financially covered. Doctors are trying to stop the force of this law also through General Prosecutor's Office.
Healthcare specialists announced possible protests and strikes, if only salaries of hospital doctors and nurses will be increased. According to the president of Slovak Medical Union of Specialists, Andrej Janco, the raise of salaries of doctors and nurses is taking place at the expense of all others in the system. Union represents about 600 private clinics. President of the Union admits that the financial resources to cover wage increasing of all healthcare professionals are missing. But he also states that increasing of wages of doctors and nurses without increasing of salaries of other healthcare professionals will cause commotion.
Private outpatient doctors are asking for the same adjustment of minimum wages as it is in the case of doctors in hospitals. According to the president of the Association of Private Doctors, Ladislav Pázstor, they are asking for the basic salary in amount of € 1 600. He assumes that, in terms of their members, outpatient sector would need € 118 million per year, as together with higher salary of nurse the costs on the outpatient clinic would be € 2 900 monthly. Association has allegedly also prepared its own plan of protests.
