Government facilitates patient access to compensated medications and medical devices

Patients will have easier access to compensated medications and medical devices. The government has approved a set of amendments related to mandatory health care insurance.

According to the document, the validity period of compensated prescriptions for acute illnesses will be extended from 10 to 15 days. This measure supports patients who, for objective reasons, cannot reach the pharmacy immediately after receiving the prescription. A 15-day term will allow more flexible access to treatment, avoid prescription expiration, and reduce the need to return to the doctor to reissue the prescription. This change also benefits elderly individuals, patients in rural areas, or those with reduced mobility.

Another improvement concerns patients with type 2 diabetes. Tests and lancets for measuring blood glucose levels will be prescribed for a period of up to 6 months instead of 3 months, as is currently the case. This change allows for prescribing larger and more economical packages and reduces the frequency of visits to the doctor and pharmacy. At the same time, the rule is adapted to the specific nature of diabetic treatment, which remains stable in the long term.

It is also proposed to eliminate the current limit on utilizing the prescription in a maximum of three visits to the pharmacy. In practice, this limit often led to the prescription being blocked in the ePrescription Information System when medications were not available, forcing the patient to request a new prescription. By removing this restriction and keeping only the prescription validity period - 15 days for acute illnesses and 60 days for chronic ones, patients will be able to gradually collect all the prescribed medications, depending on availability in pharmacies, without interruption in treatment and without unnecessary administrative procedures.

The project also includes reducing penalties for not paying the mandatory health care insurance policy on time, thus reducing delay penalties by about 4 times.

Additionally, the project eliminates the restriction that allowed compensated medications to be prescribed on an electronic prescription for only one diagnosis. With this change, doctors will be able to include the complete treatment of a patient on the same prescription, reducing bureaucracy and facilitating access to necessary therapies.