KDH Proposes Free-of-charge Patient Appointments with Doctors

Bratislava, April 25 (TASR) - The Christian Democrats (KDH) want to make sure that costs related to health care management cannot be foisted upon patients, pointing out that even though the current legislation bans doctors from charging fees for giving specific-time appointments to patients, in practice the ban is often circumvented by having third parties charge the patients. KDH urged Health Minister Zuzana Dolinkova (Voice-SD) to support their bill to remedy the situation. "Our bill says that the patient management falls under the provision of health care and it's a free-of-charge service [...] We're a great nation, always capable of devising various ways to get round. Hence, a system emerged in which if the provider of health care - a specific doctor or outpatient department - delegates [the making of appointments] to a non-provider of health care, the law no longer applies," said MP Peter Stachura (KDH). The upshot is that patients often have to pay fees to privately-owned internet websites to get their specific-time appointments. "There's no other country in Europe where you would have to pay to get an appointment with a doctor, if you already have a contract with a health insurer," added Stachura. Another problem is that there's no option to acquire specific-time appointments with some doctors. Because of this, KDH intends to introduce a duty to bind doctors to assign some of their office hours for these appointments. mf/mcs