Filenews 16 November 2021 - by Marilena Panagi
Fewer than 20 medical specialists in the GHS receive disproportionately high amounts every month, resulting in the incorrect allocation of the budget and the other doctors of the same specialty are wronged, since due to the overactivity of the few, the unit price on the basis of which they are all paid from the same budget falls.
In fact, during the analysis of the data obtained from the GHS software, in the last year some "strange" cases have been identified, such as the case of a doctor of a surgical specialty whose activities are not covered in their entirety by the System, but who himself received only for the outpatient services offered through the GHS much more than half a million euros, an amount considered excessive and may prove, when the ongoing investigation is completed, unjustified.
A similar situation, with amounts ranging between €300,000 and €400,000, are also found in other cases where medical specialists have very high salaries for outpatient activity, something that has alerted the competent service of the Organization, which considers that the "grace period" has expired and seems to be preparing dynamic measures against such doctors.
This phenomenon does not leave indifferent the other doctors of the same specialty, who in fact, as reported by information of "F", have already asked for explanations from the OECD. At the same time, as we are informed, several scientific societies of specialists for which a separate budget was established, had meetings with the Organization in order to evaluate the situation and to study ways that will lead to immediate management of the situation. There was a case, moreover, that the scientific society itself indicated to the Organization a specific doctor, who, according to his colleagues, must change the way he behaves in the System.
According to the same information, on the table is a proposal to set a maximum number of units that will be allocated to each doctor according to his specialty and in cases where this number will be exceeded the doctor will be paid but with a lower amount for each medical operation (at prices to be determined). Something similar is already applied in inpatient care, since GESY hospitals are reimbursed on the basis of a specific number of units and in cases where the number of units is exceeded, discount rates are imposed, which act as disincentives to create excessive acts, but at the same time do not prevent the hospital from serving patients when necessary, even when the units have been oversubscribed.
