Area: Health
Competent authority: MZ
EZU URL: .nan
Initiative ID: 1031
Initiative accepted and completed: '2020-06-08'
Initiative classified in EZU: .nan
Initiative forwarded in response: '2020-05-22'
Initiative published: '2020-05-22'
Initiative submitted: '2020-05-21'
Response from the competent authority: "Answer from the Ministry of Health:In accordance\
  \ with Article 14(5) of the Patients' Rights Act (Official Journal of the Republic\
  \ of Slovenia, No.15/08 and 55/17, hereinafter referred to as the \"PPACA\"), the\
  \ maximum waiting time in the Republic of Slovenia is respected if the waiting time\
  \ for a specific health care service with at least one health care provider in the\
  \ network of public health care providers is within the maximum permissible waiting\
  \ times. The maximum permissible waiting times for each type of health service according\
  \ to the level of urgency are laid down in the Regulation on the ordering and management\
  \ of waiting lists and maximum permissible waiting times (Official Journal of the\
  \ Republic of Slovenia, No 3/18).  According to the latest available data from the\
  \ National Institute of Public Health (March 2020), the maximum permissible waiting\
  \ time at the level of urgency is regularly respected for the vast majority of healthcare\
  \ services, which means that there is at least one provider in the public healthcare\
  \ network in the Republic of Slovenia that provides the service within the permissible\
  \ waiting time.The current Law on Health Care and Health Insurance (Official Gazette\
  \ of the Republic of Slovenia, no. 72/06 - Official consolidated text, 114/06 -\
  \ ZUTPG, 91/07, 76/08, 62/10 - ZUPJS, 87/11, 40/12 - ZUJF, 21/13 - ZUTD-A, 91/13,\
  \ 99/13 - ZUPJS-C, 99/13 - ZSVarPre-C, 111/13 - ZMEPIZ-1, 95/14 - ZUJF-C, 47/15\
  \ - ZZSDT, 61/17 - ZUP\u0160, 64/17 - ZZDej-K, and 36/19, hereinafter: ZZVZZ) in\
  \ the event that the insured person in the Republic of Slovenia, when enrolled in\
  \ the waiting list, is assigned a waiting period that exceeds the maximum permissible\
  \ waiting period, but there is no other provider in the Republic of Slovenia that\
  \ does not exceed the maximum permissible waiting period, or if the maximum permissible\
  \ waiting period is not exceeded, if a waiting period exceeding a reasonable time\
  \ has been fixed for the insured person, it shall govern only the right of the insured\
  \ person to have an examination, examination or treatment in another Member State\
  \ of the European Union, the European Economic Area and the Swiss Confederation,\
  \ or to have the costs of those services reimbursed, under the conditions laid down\
  \ in Article 44(1) of Directive 89/104/EEC. The Ministry of Health further explains\
  \ that the problem of long waiting times is complex and therefore needs to be addressed\
  \ comprehensively through systemic measures with long-term results. The increased\
  \ demand for healthcare services is influenced by several different factors; an\
  \ ageing population (and the associated prevalence of chronic diseases), technological\
  \ developments in the healthcare profession, increased patient awareness, and in\
  \ some cases excessive referral between different healthcare providers, and last\
  \ but not least, patients' demands for healthcare services, which are not always\
  \ medically justified. When the available resources in the health sector (human,\
  \ financial and equipment) are insufficient to cover the resulting needs, this has\
  \ the effect of creating unacceptable waiting times.Waiting times are therefore\
  \ the result of a combination of different causes, and the Ministry of Health is\
  \ working through various activities and measures to increase accessibility to health\
  \ services with the aim of ensuring that patients are treated within the acceptable\
  \ waiting times defined by the PDACP. In recent months, we have been confronted\
  \ with the COVID-19 epidemic, and waiting times will be even longer in some places\
  \ in the future, mainly due to the partial interruption of certain services and\
  \ the recommended measures to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection.We will therefore\
  \ give even higher priority to addressing the challenges in this area.The above-mentioned\
  \ proposal requires a change in the systemic legislation, which is in the plan of\
  \ the Ministry of Health. In the context of the changes to the systemic legislation\
  \ in the health sector, we will invite all stakeholders to dialogue during the public\
  \ debate phase when taking decisions on key directions for change in the health\
  \ system and on how to address the main challenges, and will take into account,\
  \ as far as possible, all proposals that contribute to sustainable, accessible and\
  \ quality health care for all citizens, while taking into account the availability\
  \ of resources and the capacities of the system."
Text file: 1031.txt
Title: Reducing queues in healthcare
URL: https://www.stopbirokraciji.gov.si/pobuda/?st=1031
