GHS patients have complained about long waiting times just to visit their GP with many having to wait at least two weeks before an appointment with their doctor.
According to Phileleftheros daily, the Health Insurance Organisation and the GHS Commissioner tasked with monitoring the General Healthcare System, have been receiving complaints from Cypriots who claim not to have timely access to their GPs.
According to the paper a number of GPs have seen the number of registered patients drop, as they seek to register with other doctors as a result of delays.
And a “significant number of doctors” who appeared not be available on the GHS’ online platform during the first two weeks of the GHS, now appear as ‘available’.
A ‘not-available’ status on the platform would indicate that the doctor has reached the 2,500 ceiling on patients they can enroll.
HIO general manager Athos Tsinontides said: “GHS beneficiaries not satisfied with their General Practitioner will have the right to switch to another doctor after six months or they can ask their current GP to ‘release’ them so that they can enroll with another doctor”.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health, the HIO and the Commissioner have also recorded cases of unethical behaviour by a small number of doctors, who appear to have been referring patients exclusively to specific health care providers (specialists, labs and clinics), which is forbidden by law.
According to Health Minister Constantinos Ioannou, cases of doctors catering to patients who have not yet registered with the GHS have been reported.
However, authorities will be lenient towards these doctors the minister told MPs while informing them on how the GHS is coming along.
Addressing MPs, the Minister said that he found the 373 GPs who have joined the GHS so far, to be more than enough for the smooth operation of the system.
Regarding pediatricians in the GHS, Ioannou said that their number has reached 114, while more doctors have exhibited interest to join.
The health minister said that on Thursday morning there were 517 specialists in the System, of whom 141 are private doctors, while another 30 doctors from the private sector are waiting to sign their contracts.
The Minister also referred to a number of problems related to the software system handling GHS processes.
He said that many of the problems would be “eradicated” as of Friday when the system will be upgraded for the first time since its launch.
Ioannou said that the first upgrading of the GHS software was to be available to healthcare professionals early Friday morning. Fixes were made to the software based on complaints and reports from health service providers themselves.
Future fixes are to eradicate problems health providers have while prescribing lab tests through the software platform, filling patients medical history and other data-related issues recorded during the first weeks of the GHS.
The software system will be upgraded in two weeks’ time.
