Dovera Insurer: E-prescribing Changes Will Harm Patients, Doctors and System

Bratislava, January 2 (TASR) - Legislative changes in e-prescribing are a step backwards in the accessibility of health care, according to the health insurer Dovera, PR manager of Dovera insurance company Branislav Cehlarik told TASR on Thursday, adding that the changes will negatively affect patients, doctors and the entire health-care system. "We're sorry that this situation has arisen, even though we didn't cause it. It's right to ask MPs why they passed such a law. It shows the chaos in which laws are approved in Slovakia," noted Cehlarik. The PR manager added that the situation doesn't benefit the patient in any way. "On the contrary, it will harm patients because they will have to go to the doctor unnecessarily. It will harm the doctors because it will put an unnecessary burden on them and it will also harm the system because it will cost more money," he stated. In January, an amendment to the National Health-care Information System Act came into force. The possibility of issuing e-prescriptions for some medicines has been scrapped. This is the case, for example, for medicines fully reimbursed by the patient. The Health Ministry explained that, in view of the technical-legislative necessity of the modification, it was necessary to respect European Union law on the protection of personal data in relation to the electronic prescription service (ePrescription). It declared that it was addressing the situation in order to reduce the impact on the public as soon as possible. am/mcs