The Minister of Health officially announces a major first for the medical system in Romania, one that comes after many years in which many requests were made regarding this change, aimed at the introduction of a co-payment for certain health services performed in medical units from Romania.
The Minister of Health explains below, in a document regarding the National Health Strategy, about the introduction of a co-payment for medical services in outpatient clinics with the choice of the doctor who will provide medical assistance, a pilot project for preventive health services also being considered.
"Regarding the increase in performance and the efficiency of the capacity for diagnosis, treatment and monitoring in the ambulatory, the final objective pursued by the Strategy is to provide the patient with the necessary services in a fast, accessible and quality manner, as well as the elimination of waiting times generated by the lack of funding or overcrowding .
In order to achieve these goals, this level will be calibrated to the need in the territory and integrated with the other levels of care: primary and hospital. Clinical circuits will be adapted to the patient's need for diagnosis and treatment to increase efficiency and decrease waiting times.
In this sense, the Strategy aims to pilot the provision of certain outpatient services with the possibility of choosing the professional who provides the requested health services, based on a legally regulated co-payment borne by the beneficiary and the possibility of transparent scheduling of the respective service in the electronic scheduling system. In order to increase equitable access to preventive oral health services, one of the proposed measures represents the piloting of a package of preventive oral health services for the adult population financed by additional insurance.
At the same time, the 2020-2021 period was marked by even more pressure on the hospital sector, due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Thus, the vulnerable elements related to the hospital sector, namely the outdated infrastructure, non-performing circuits, patient safety, insufficient staff, have become even more important. The hospital sector will develop on the components of: performance, safety, efficiency and interoperability so as to offer safe, efficient and quality services to patients in an accessible manner. At the same time, efficiency and managerial performance targets will be pursued at the level of hospital units, as well as their integration into the network of health services at the county, regional, national level.
The approach will be integrated at the local (county) level to ensure accessibility to services, simultaneously with their restructuring. The development and reform of hospitals will be achieved through new investments in infrastructure with a major territorial impact, investments that will be complementary to the construction of the 3 regional hospitals in Cluj-Napoca, Iasi and Craiova. These investments are detailed in the National Reconstruction and Resilience Plan, and in the Health Operational Program."
