Filenews 21 February 2023 - by Marilena Panayi
GHS personal doctors ask for €6 co-payment from their patients, while others count as a "visit" the telephone communication with their patients and then if their patient needs them, they charge him €15 because, as they claim, he exceeded the limit of visits set by the GHS.
In the previous period, citizens proceeded with serious complaints against personal doctors for adults and paediatricians, who contacted "F" and were referred to the "Patient Observatory" of OSAK in order to investigate their complaint, while yesterday "F" informed the Health Insurance Organization, which is making efforts to investigate at least the cases in which, Citizens gave specific figures and were not satisfied with anonymous reports.
It is reported that some of the citizens' complaints concern cases that probably lead to moral and legal offenses on the part of doctors, while at the same time, through some complaints, the ignorance of citizens about the correct way of using the GHS is highlighted.
From the complaints received by "F", the case of a paediatrician in Limassol stands out, who asks parents to pay a co-payment of €6 on each visit. This practice is illegal, but it is also noteworthy that the parents, who subsequently filed a complaint, were not aware that the GHS personal doctors, whether for children or adults, do not have the right to charge their beneficiaries with any amount, except in specific cases.
The same paediatrician also allegedly charged parents €25 in case there is a delay in the examination of their child and their appointment is postponed until after 8 pm.
"We pay €6 on each visit. These are cases that while our appointment is at 6:00 p.m., due to a delay there, and because he has many children, it is 8 in the evening for the doctor to see us and then he charges us €25 because he is out of working hours. But we go on time. Also, now that it's winter he also does some tests on the child, for flu, etc. and we pay another €35. That is, we go there and while it is supposed to be free through the GHS and we pay around €50 each visit," she told "F" mother.
In a second case, a personal doctor for adults, calculates the telephone service of his patients as a visit. It is reminded that for each age group, the GHS sets a maximum number of visits per year, and in case the patient exceeds this number, his personal doctor has the right, if he wishes, to charge him with €15 for each additional visit.
"Because we had all these viruses, I had to talk on the phone to the doctor a few times. Then, because I felt that he needed to see me in person, I contacted to make an appointment and they informed me that I had completed the four times I was entitled to and that they would charge me €15," another citizen told "F".
Furthermore, several parents asked to be informed about how vaccines are charged to the GHS.
"He gave us two vaccines at the same time, one told us that it was from the GHS for free and the other that it was outside the GHS. I don't know how much he had to charge us, but the €130 was told to us afterwards and after the vaccine had been made. That is, if we didn't have money at the time, what would we do?" a mother told "F."
It is stated for the information of parents, that vaccinations are the responsibility of the Ministry of Health. That is, the Ministry of Health, based on the national vaccination scheme, ensures vaccines that are administered to children, through the paediatricians of the GHS. For these vaccines, parents should not be charged. Only two newer generation vaccines remain outside the vaccination schedule, which have not yet been examined by the competent Committee of the Ministry of Health. For these vaccines paediatricians can charge parents. Regarding the amount of the charge, we did not receive a clear answer from any of the competent bodies we contacted.
Problems in the relations between personal doctors and beneficiaries
"The biggest problem in these cases," the secretary of the Cyprus Federation of Patients' Associations Charalambos Papadopoulos told "F", "is that citizens do not want to proceed with a named complaint to the HIO." In the case of parents, he added, "things are even more difficult because parents do not easily change their children's paediatrician."
Unfortunately, however, he said, "we notice that citizens are also not properly informed about the way in which the GHS operates. It is unacceptable, three years after its implementation, to have beneficiaries who do not know that the €6 supplement does not concern personal doctors but only specialists". Also, "we see that these complaints include issues that are more ethical. For example, for a parent to have an appointment at 6 o'clock and because the doctor was late in the end for the parent to pay €25, for us it is unacceptable".
Also, the fact that a personal doctor counts the telephone communication with his patients as a visit and then "tells them but you filled in the number you are entitled to have to pay €15, is for us a very serious issue. Of course, it must be said that at the beginning of the pandemic this was given as a directive to doctors, but we no longer live with measures and restrictions. If the doctor will count the telephone communication as a visit, it is advisable to arrange to see his patient in person. The €15 was entered exceptionally and it must definitely be said that it is not required to be paid by the citizen through the GHS, but the requirement is the doctor's. On the other hand, there are also cases in which the patients themselves constantly ask to speak by phone with their doctor, even when there is no need, and we have also had complaints from doctors who tell us that they are obliged, in some way, to invoke the €15, in order to retain their beneficiaries. The problems in the relations between personal doctors and beneficiaries are unfortunately still many but certainly, we cannot accept doctors who are looking for a thousand ways to secure a few extra euros from their beneficiaries".
INTERVENTION
The few destroy the many
Unfortunately, the behaviour of the pre-GHS doctors' leadership and the way in which some doctors behave within the system, combined with the huge fees that some receive, have damaged, perhaps irreparably and wrongly, the image of all doctors in Cyprus. But when some people blatantly do their best to earn €20 or €50 from their patients, for whom they are paid by the HIO anyway, and we all know how much the personal doctors of the system get, surely the citizens will react. On the other hand, citizens also need to know how they use the GHS and at the same time it is imperative that complaints are made by name. The few doctors destroy the image of the many. Someone has to react.
