Experts are grabbing their heads about changing the prescription: A letter to Lengvarsky! – NEW TIME

The letter called on the Minister of Health, Vladimír Lengvarský (OĽANO nominee), to suspend its effectiveness and initiate a discussion between the parties concerned with a view to adjusting it.

The letter was signed by more than 30 presidents of professional medical societies and 14 chief experts from the health sector. They point out that the amendment to the law will have a negative impact on the quality of health care. They also criticize the fact that it was not the subject of a proper comment procedure and that the opinion of doctors and hospital representatives was ignored.

Experts have pointed out that, according to the new regulation, a general practitioner cannot even prescribe non-prescription drugs that have been indicated by a specialist, and therefore the drug or device should always be prescribed by the prescribing doctor. “We consider the impact of such changed legislation to be very unfavorable, as it will cause patients serious organizational and health complications,” they said in the opinion.

They point out, for example, that patients who visit more than one specialist will be overburdened, which can lead to a reduction in adherence to treatment. They also warn against reducing the availability of medicines. “We warn of a situation where specialists, who have several times more patients in their care compared to general practitioners, will not be able to adequately ensure prescription due to capacity reasons,” they added.

According to them, this adjustment leads to pressure on specialists to use repetitive drugs when prescribing drugs, ie an instruction to reuse the drug, which may lead to poorer patient control and therapeutic chaos.

They also criticize the regulation, which requires hospitals to prescribe medicines and devices for 30 days when a patient is released. “Many medical facilities do not have specialists in all fields, and therefore it will not be possible to prescribe a new treatment for the patient,” they said. For example, the fact that the medication that the patient receives after discharge will no longer have anyone in the outpatient care who prescribes is considered a critical mistake of the amendment.