Filenews 25 October 2023
As of November 1st, podiatrist services will be offered for specific categories of patients and specific diagnoses by the General Health System.
According to an announcement by the Health Insurance Organization, access to these services "requires the issuance of a relevant referral by a personal or specialist doctor, regardless of specialty, for beneficiaries who fall into the categories of diagnoses shown in the Table below":
Table of Diagnoses
| Type 1 diabetes mellitus with neurological complications | Type 1 diabetes mellitus with peripheral circulatory complications | ||
| Type 1 diabetes mellitus with multiple complications | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with neurological complications | ||
| Type 2 diabetes mellitus with peripheral circulatory complications | Type 2 diabetes mellitus with multiple complications | ||
| Diabetes mellitus associated with malnutrition with neurological complications | Diabetes mellitus associated with malnutrition with complications of peripheral blood circulation | ||
| Other identified diabetes mellitus with circulatory complications | Other identified diabetes mellitus with multiple complications | ||
| Unspecified diabetes mellitus with neurological complications | Unspecified diabetes mellitus with peripheral circulatory complications | ||
| Unspecified diabetes mellitus with multiple complications | Non-neuropathic hereditary familial amyloidosis | ||
| Neuropathic hereditary familial amyloidosis | Hereditary familial amyloidosis, unspecified | ||
| Secondary systemic amyloidosis | Other forms of amyloidosis | ||
| Amyloidosis, not specified | Diabetic mononeuropathy | ||
| Hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy | Other specified polyneuropathies | ||
| Diabetic polyneuropathy | Polyneuropathy in other endocrine and metabolic diseases | ||
| Idiopathic peripheral autonomic neuropathy | Psoriatic arthrosis | ||
| Stage I pressure ulcer and pressure area | Stage II pressure ulcer | ||
| Stage III pressure ulcer | Stage IV pressure ulcer | ||
| Pressure ulcer and pressure area, not specified | Ulcer of the lower extremity, not elsewhere classified | ||
| Chronic skin ulcer, not elsewhere classified | Amyloidosis of the skin | ||
| Rheumatoid arthritis, unspecified | Diabetic arthritis (E10-E14+ with a common fourth digit of .6) | ||
| Chronic kidney disease, stage 3 | Chronic kidney disease, stage 4 | ||
| Chronic kidney disease, stage 5 | Chronic renal failure, not specified | ||
The maximum number of visits to a podiatrist is set at five (5) visits per beneficiary per year.
As the HIO points out, "those beneficiaries who come to a podiatrist without a referral should pay the appropriate cost themselves".
