Bloggers want corruption in health care stopped

Bloggers across the region are concerned about financial, ethical and procedural corruption in the Balkan health care system. According to the World Health Organisation’s latest report, the main problem is workers in the sector, and their behaviour.

Taking money, stealing materials and equipment from the workplace and the refusal to perform duties are common examples, bloggers said.

In Croatia, a bribery scandal in the health care sector was broken up by authorities in an action known as “Hippocrates.” Around 350 doctors received money for years to prescribe drugs produced by Croatian-German manufacturer Farmal. The company’s board of directors were all arrested.

“In countries where doctors are not paid enough, corruption is more common,” said the Macedonian blog Balkanizam. “There are cases when patients have to wait for immediate operation if they do not bribe the doctor. Some of the doctors have increased their income by sharing cheap medication.”

“Corruption in health care is hardly a solvable problem. It is the most complex system in a state where there are countless opportunities for corruption,” Zubarica wrote.

“This is a so-called ‘social corruption’ determined by tradition,” Croatian blogger najdoktor wrote.

“Corruption in the health sector should start demystification of the authorised, adherence to laws, the financial situation of the state allocated funds for health, which should not depend on political will. The axis: doctor-patient-administration-media must be recognisable. With mutual co-operation of these factors can be resolved presence of corruption in the health system,” wrote najdoktor.

“Political support is considered to be a decisive factor in the fight against corruption,” said Zubarica. “The state should introduce system changes, public condemnation and sanctions and penalties.”

“Those who participate in corruption (health worker, patient or intermediary) make it a criminal offense subject to all prison sentences,” said Upravusi.

Government officials said the state is taking measures to deal with corruption in healthcare. One of them is the methodology of pricing drugs.

“From this month are reduced the prices of 202 drugs,” Macedonia’s Health Minister Nikola Todorovski toldSETimes. “This methodology is one of the key measures for a serious fight against corruption in the health sector and soon will be applied in other countries in the region. It is a credible process that deals with the problem of withdrawing certain drugs from the market and shortage of certain drugs on the one hand, and on the other hand disables large margins and earnings.”

“For 10 years, Serbia prepared the National Health calculation, which should have been prepared sooner. It will be a clear indicator of actual health costs. But also a way to control the issue of corruption,” wrote blog.92.

sources: SETimes