Filenews 20 February 2026 - by Marilena Panayi
Officially, and in fact, by the Audit Office, the legislative gap that exists in Cyprus and concerns telediagnostics and remote patient service is now being discussed, which, as it is found, is widely applied in both the public and private sectors, but without any legislation in force that defines criteria and safety valves for patients.
This issue has been in the news and the Parliament very intensely lately, on the occasion of the discussion of the bill regulating the operation of radiation diagnostic centers in Cyprus, with disagreements focusing on whether in every examination carried out there must be a doctor in person or not.
The lack of a special institutional framework for telediagnostics is recorded in the special report of the Audit Office for the Accident and Emergency Departments of the hospitals of Nicosia and Limassol, on the occasion of the practice of purchasing remote diagnostic services by radiologists located in Greece, by the State Health Services Organization.
"The absence of a legislative framework in the provision of telediagnostic services to ensure the quality of the provision of these services was found. On the occasion of the above agreement of OKYPY, for the purchase of telediagnostic services from a specific company in Greece, our Service asked in a letter to the Ministry of Health and the National eHealth Authority to clarify whether telediagnostic services are currently covered by an existing legal framework and whether the necessary mechanisms exist ensuring and supervising the quality, safety and adequacy of the services provided to patients", the Audit Office said in its report.
In a response letter, according to the report, the National eHealth Authority informed that "the implementation of telediagnostics in Cyprus is carried out without a special, comprehensive and independent legislative framework". Furthermore, it was stated that "there are no specific adequate mechanisms to fully ensure the quality and safety of these services, as well as the absence of a specific legal framework regarding the distribution of legal responsibility among those involved".
Commenting on the remarks of the Audit Office on this issue, the spokesperson of OKYPY, Charalambos Charilaou, stressed that the practice of telediagnosis has been applied both in Cyprus and abroad for a few years now.
Two-hour gap in patient service
The report of the Audit Office includes the findings of its officials, who suddenly visited the Nicosia and Limassol A&E in the early hours of October 1, 2025.
The report speaks of structural, procedural, interpersonal and labour issues, which, as pointed out, cannot justify the prolonged stay, from 4 to 11 hours, of patients in the A&E.
The Audit Office warns that such delays increase the risk of not detecting pathological findings in time, with potential consequences for patient safety. In fact, it is pointed out that the existence of an on-call radiologist did not ensure the immediate issuance of opinions, which raises questions about the effectiveness of the on-call system.
Particular reference is made to the practice followed by the A&E and concerns the period between 4-6 in the morning during which the specialist doctors who are on standby duty are not called.
According to OKYPY (reference to the report): "What is observed is that, in cases where immediate intervention is required due to the seriousness of the patients' condition, specialist doctors intervene immediately. In cases where an opinion and/or a decision for admission is required in cases that are stable and the results of the laboratory tests have been received at 03:00 or even 04:00 in the morning, it is taken into account that the on-call workers have spent almost 24 hours on duty and, given that the patient's condition allows it, the specialties are informed at six in the morning."
The position of OKYPY does not seem to satisfy the Audit Service: "Our Service expresses its reservations with the above position of the Organization and is of the opinion that in no procedure of the Organization is provided for such incidents, which are stable and the results of the laboratory tests have been taken at 03:00 and/or 04:00 in the morning, remain in the A&E and await examination by specialist doctors on duty at 06:00 in the morning or later. We point out that the clinical evaluation of patients by medical specialists determines the criticality or not of the patient's condition."
