Filenews 29 January 2025 - by Marilena Panayi
It will carry out a special study – "Almost six years after the implementation of the System, mechanisms need to be developed to identify the needs for each service", says the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO).
GHS providers and services under evaluation. The Health Insurance Organization has already commissioned a study from a foreign, well-known in the field of Health, firm of experts and its goal is to develop mechanisms that will help in the process of continuous evaluation and, at the same time, will enable the anticipation of new needs so that where the need arises, interventions can be made and limits set, criteria and regulations that will lead to an upgrade of the System.
The tender for the undertaking of the project "Development of mechanisms for the evaluation of the participation of health service providers in the GHS" has already been completed and the contractor must deliver the results of its study, which will include the mechanism/tool to be used by the HIO, by the end of the year. The start, according to the HIO's planning, will be with inpatient care, i.e. GHS hospitals and pharmacies and then the study will be extended to all health service providers of the System.
"The map of Health in Cyprus is changing and one of the main objectives now must be to ensure the quantitative and qualitative adequacy of health service providers, so that the needs of citizens are truly and effectively covered," the director of the Health Insurance Organisation, Ifigeneia Kamitsi, told "F" and analyzed the details of the study that is expected to begin in the next few days. Saying that this project "is very important for the HIO", Kamitsi said that "especially in Cyprus, after the implementation of the GHS and as expected, we see significant changes but also large and new investments. Certainly, we, as the HIO, believe that since the System has been largely stabilized, almost six years after its implementation, the challenge is now to develop mechanisms that will determine the needs for each service and how they can be satisfied in order to avoid phenomena of low supply or oversupply, to ensure the effective service of beneficiaries and the sustainability of the GHS itself".
Changes, he said, "are also being made regarding the regulatory framework governing the operation of various health service providers. That is, the Ministry of Health is promoting a series of bills concerning the operation of doctors' offices, diagnostic centers, rehabilitation and palliative care centers, etc." As the HIO, "we welcome this effort because it will help in the operation of the GHS since there will be licensing and supervision of providers on the basis of legislation, something that is currently absent in Cyprus."
The aim, explained the Director of the HIO, "is to develop mechanisms and tools that will help us evaluate the operation of health service providers and their effectiveness and anticipate our needs in the medium and long term. For example, new technologies and methods are constantly emerging. Planning is needed in order for them to join the GHS in time and for this to happen the HIO must be properly prepared, be able to evaluate and cost these new methods, set conditions for their inclusion in the System, etc."
"The monitoring and upgrading of the quality of services provided to citizens is of particular importance to the HIO and is one of our main goals at the moment", stressed Ms. Kamitsi and explained that the study will include "the evaluation of the current situation, the analysis of best practices applied in other Health Systems, The development of a health planning tool and the submission of suggestions on possible ways that will help us achieve the goals that will arise from the evaluation".
Upon completion of the study, he added, "the HIO will evaluate the results and recommendations of the experts and it will take some time to decide on the policies to promote and implement next."
The choice of hospitals and pharmacies for the start of the study was made due to the importance of these two sectors in the GHS.
"On the one hand we have inpatient care, which is one of the most important benefits to citizens and we certainly see the changes that are taking place in our country, and on the other hand we have pharmacies where we already know that it is an area in which there is "overcrowding" and we think we need to evaluate it."
