Family Physicians against health cards

This year’s awaited introduction of health cards is facing family doctors’ opposition, but also dissent from non-governmental social rights organisations.

The data administration and input processes were contested on January 31 in a public debate on the decree issued by the Health Ministry, hoping that it will improve the cost control of health insurance.

Family medics contest paying for the IT part themselves, and also add that they do not have the time to load the data into the cards.

‘I don’t think it’s normal for me to edit data, some of which the patients should pay for because they are the ones who pay for group and RH. I must say, we are not computer experts.’

‘As medics we were only taught to use the computer for simple things. Editing and loading data on such cards takes a lot of time. If you take the card, it will be a felony,’ Doctor Doina Mihăilă, president of the National Federation of Medics.

‘We have to know how to edit the data during the 15 min. check-up. Thus, our patients will probably go to private clinics for the three months that will take us to fill in the data. So, if you’re planning on doing something good, that’s nice, but don’t use someone else,’ Doina Mihaila said.

When the family physicians requested funds for experts to load the data into the cards, to prevent the errors that could appear because of the medics putting in wrong info, the National Health Insurance House representative replied that health card information is only general anyway, and that it would be rechecked afterwards.

‘I don’t think it’s natural for the family doctor, who is the one holding the patient’s primary data, to have the responsibility to load data into the card, since it already has a direct relationship with the patient.

Nobody will ever take a decision based on the data. No one. They have an informative purpose’, Marius Tupu , President of the National Health Insurance House, said.


Translated by: Ciocanel Tudor
MA Student, MTTLC, Bucharest University