KEY CHANGES IN HEALTHCARE: Medicines will be prescribed by a specialist! The state is taking over responsibility, and a reform is also planned – Topky.sk

The changes will take place as part of an amendment to the law on medicines and medical devices and as part of a major reform of hospitals.

The state assumes responsibility for the side effects after vaccination at COVID

extension of the state’s liability for damage caused by the administration of a vaccine against COVID-19 disease, the therapeutic use of which was permitted for a group of patients due to COVID-19 disease in the Slovak Republic by the Ministry of Health pursuant to § 46 para. 4 or a vaccine against COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which is subject to further monitoring. This vaccine covers all vaccines that are currently used in the Slovak Republic in the context of COVID-19 vaccination.

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Your doctor may prescribe medication for you

At the same time, the prescribing physician becomes a prescribing physician, who will, however, have the opportunity to continue to transfer his / her own prescription during his / her absence from the workplace to another healthcare provider in the same or another specialized field.

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In practice, this means that the specialist not only indicates the drug, but also prescribes it to the patient. This amendment will increase the medical and legal safety of both the patient and the prescribing / prescribing physician. The patient will not be forced to visit a general practitioner due to the prescription of the drug indicated by the specialist. At the same time, the prescribing physician is obliged to prescribe the patient an eRecept (it is not just an option, as is currently the case).

He can also entrust another doctor

During his absence from the workplace or in the event of a malfunction of the technical equipment, the prescribing doctor may, by mutual agreement, entrust another doctor in the same or another specialization, no more than three times during the relevant calendar year in each case, for a maximum of two months. An exception is the prescription of human drugs containing narcotic substance II. group or psychotropic substance II. group, where the delegation may be valid for a maximum of 12 months without interruption.

After discharge from institutional care, the patient is entitled to prescribe a human drug

Upon discharge of a person from institutional health care and provision of institutional emergency services, the patient is entitled, in accordance with prescription restrictions and indication restrictions, to prescribe a medicinal product included in the list of categorized drugs, dietetic food included in the list of categorized dietary foods and medical devices included in the list of categorized medical devices. devices in the number of packages needed to treat the patient for a maximum of 30 days and an individually designed medical device.

This regulation eliminates the need for the patient or relatives to visit the outpatient clinic immediately after discharge from the institutional health care facility, reduces the administrative burden of the outpatient sector and increases patient friendliness, as he can pick up medicines directly after release at the pharmacy.

The doctor cannot appoint a care provider

In connection with the issuance of a prescription, medical voucher, or prescription record, the prescribing physician is prohibited from identifying and recommending to the patient the choice of a pharmacy care provider for the purpose of dispensing prescribed human medicines, dietetic foods, and medical devices. The reason is that influencing the patient by the prescribing doctor is considered unfair competition.

Prescribing dietetic foods and medical devices in the classic form and electronically. If the patient takes the prescribed human medicine, medical device or dietetic food for a long time, the prescribing physician is entitled to prescribe the human medicine by creating a prescription record marked “REPETATUR”, with a prescription record marked “REPETATUR” being a maximum of one year.

It is possible to prescribe two types of dietetic food on one prescription form by the prescribing doctor.

Other changes in the law on medicines

The possibilities of dispensing a medical device for incontinence or gluten-free food, or the selection of a substitute medical device for incontinence or a replacement gluten-free food are adjusted if the policyholder so requests and the quantitative and financial limit is observed.

The validity of a medical voucher or prescription record for an individually manufactured tailor-made medical device shall be extended in order to ensure sufficient time for the manufacture of this type of medical device.

The Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic is empowered to authorize the use of an in vitro diagnostic medical device in the provision of healthcare for one patient or a group of patients to whom the conformity assessment procedure has not been applied, if its use in the provision of healthcare is in the interest of a duly substantiated request. protection of public and safety or patient health and an in vitro diagnostic medical device that meets the requirements for placing on the market or putting into service according to specific regulations is not available on the market.

Public pharmacies and hospital pharmacies will not be obliged to apply for a permit for the handling of drug precursors, as this obligation is not imposed by Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council. 273/2004 of 11 February 2004 on drug precursors, as amended, or Act no. 331/2005 Coll. on state administration bodies in matters of drug precursors and on the amendment of certain laws as amended.

One person may only act as a professional representative at one place of work; this does not apply to the professional representative of the authorization holder with two places of business if the operating times at the places of business are not at the same time.

A holder of a medicinal product for human use who has purchased a categorized medicinal product from another holder of a medicinal product for human use is required to supply that medicinal product only to a public or hospital pharmacy, which must dispense it to the patient.

Holders of medicinal products for the wholesale distribution of medicinal products are prohibited from storing medicinal products supplied to the holder of a pharmaceutical authorization who owns them.

Reform of hospitals, dispensaries and emergency care

Ministry of Health until 1.7. 2022 will issue a categorization of institutional health care and on the basis of that at the end of 2022 the department will create the first network, which will then start to run in practice from 2024.

In cooperation with the Operational Center of the Emergency Medical Service of the Slovak Republic, in the course of 2022 we will adopt a new network of the emergency medical service (EMS) connected to the new optimal network of hospitals. The optimal network will be based on the demand for interventions according to diagnoses and regions, the geographical distribution of EMS stations, taking into account the road network and infrastructure, the availability of hospital facilities of appropriate types and at the same time using mathematical modeling and simulations from real data.

In 2022, the Ministry of Health will adopt a new definition of urgent health care, which will determine the circle of authorized users of the emergency health service.
The aim is to use emergency services for justified interventions when patients are in direct danger of life, which will increase the availability of emergency services and make efficient use of resources. These reforms will also include a definition of the provision of emergency care within hospitals in connection with the adopted optimal network of hospitals.

In 2022, the Ministry of Health wants to focus on defining the role of the primary sector in the system of providing health care through new concepts of general medicine. The aim is to support the expansion of the competencies of general practitioners for adults and general practitioners for children and adolescents.

In the next step, the Ministry of Health wants to focus on specialized outpatient care, the need and role of which will be reviewed within 2023.

In 2022, we will simplify and shorten the recognition of documents and qualifications of incoming health professionals and permanently establish the institute of professional internships and introduce programs to accelerate the adaptation of highly qualified health professionals and their families. Based on the approved human resources strategy, which the ministry is already working on, we will take steps such as education reform, which will maintain and improve tools such as incentive scholarships, residency studies, and we will work for better wage conditions for health workers.