Doctors report errors in electronic prescription system

In a letter to the National Health Insurance, family doctors warn that patients can wait much, and sometimes in vain, a prescription to be issued.

In almost 10 percent of cases are found that CNAS server contains wrong data.

Young people over 18 years, who continue school, appear uninsured, contrary to law.

Pensioners with pensions below 700 lei or beneficiaries of special laws, who would be entitled to free prescriptions, figure as ordinary pensioners forced to pay by CAS.
New-born children are validated in the system only after the second month of life, so they cannot benefit from their services and reimbursement to providers during this period.

Family doctors saw themselves confronted with situations where, by querying the system, found out that the patient who came for a check fits the category "died".

"Not all our colleagues have internet access of good quality for the electronic recipe and there are rural areas where there it is not continuous electric power. Therefore, technical requirements for electronic prescription are not ensured", said the Secretary General of the National Society of Family Medicine, Dr. Sandra Alexiu.

While family doctors propose that also after January the 1st 2013 to be able to prescribe off-line on preprinted forms, in case of such problems, CNAS representatives give assurances that defects will be repaired in time.
"We will fix it and we started this week to lay the foundations of a remedy collective of database within the insured health insurance system," said Marius Filip, the chief doctor.

Starting July the 2nd, electronic prescriptions are issued in parallel with those on paper.

The complete transition to the new system is scheduled for January the 1st 2013, when prescribing and dispensing of compensated drugs will be solely electronic.


Translated by Alexandra-Diana Mircea
MTTLC, Bucharest University