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Péter Takács is the XXVI. National Ambulatory Care Conference and XXI. Before the opening of the National Outpatient Professional Conference, he said: before the coronavirus epidemic, the number of doctor-patient encounters in primary care and outpatient specialist care amounted to almost 70-77 million times per year, then during the pandemic it dropped radically to around 55 million per year, however now it is on the rise again.
Thus, patients may increasingly feel that it is more difficult for them to access care
– remarked the state secretary of health, calling transparency important for that very reason.
The Egészségablak application, which already has three million users, provides a solution for this, and it also offers online appointment booking. By now, the vast majority of outpatient clinics have joined the system, he added.
The patient using the application through your mobile phone, you can see specialist clinics throughout the country, and if you can’t find an appointment in the nearest one, you have the opportunity to use care in other areas of Hungary. This currently only works for services that do not require a referral, but in the future it is planned to extend it to services that require a referral as well, he explained. So if someone gets an appointment at a clinic that is not in accordance with the regional care obligation, then according to the law, the patient cannot be “driven away”, clarified Péter Takács.
Péter Takács emphasized: the possibility also means progress for the service providers, the administrative burden and telephone traffic are lower. At the same time, the state secretary drew attention to the fact that the online booking option does not mean the end of the classic telephone or personal appointment booking.
The Economx report he also said that, regarding the relationship between public and private care, he said that they are slowly reaching the end of the separation process.
Regarding the performance of the doctors, he noted that
the performance of 10-15 percent of healers has dropped, and the unethical patient care they represent puts a stamp on the healthcare industry.
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At the health policy forum following the opening of the conference, Csaba András Nagy, board member of the Medicina 2000 Association, presented this year’s annual resolution of their organization, in which he drew attention to the permanent human resources problem of the healthcare sector. He also indicated: their association is particularly interested in reducing appointment times, improving financing problems, and they would consider it justified to finally abandon the nationalization of municipally-owned specialist clinics.
In response to what was said, Péter Takács highlighted that there will definitely be no nationalization in this government cycle.
He also mentioned that the rules for the continued employment of doctors after retirement have been simplified – and will be further simplified in the fall parliamentary session – and that in the case of skilled workers, the employer can decide on employment himself.
At the conference, the state secretary of health encouraged those clinics that have not yet done so to join the online appointment booking system.
Zita Szondi, the Deputy Director General responsible for basic and specialist care of the National Hospital General Directorate, spoke at the conference about the number of cases in the outpatient care system in 2023 at 67 million, and in 2024 it will reach 70 million.
More than 70 percent of care is provided in specialized surgeries integrated with hospitals, and 30 percent in independent outpatient specialized surgeries, two-thirds of which are in Budapest or the metropolitan agglomeration, he said.
Economx wrote about the fact that 30 percent of pre-registered patients do not show up for appointments. It was discussed that the specialist clinics might introduce a HUF 1,000 cancellation fee, which would not mean a visit fee. Technically, this would look like they ask the patient for a token amount when booking the appointment, which he will get back if he shows up at the appointment.
Cover image source: MTI Photo/Róbert Hegedüs
Source: www.portfolio.hu
