The only way to solve the prescription problem and to prevent fraud is to have an online prescription service and a pharmaceuticals tracking system, the Turkish Cypriot Medical Association (KTTB) has said.
In a written statement, the board of directors of the KTTB noted that it is not possible for them to recommend to physicians the re-starting of e-prescriptions with the new contract proposed by the Social Insurance Department, as they do not trust it.
In the statement, it was said that new regulations regarding patients’ access to medicines, prepared within the Insurance Department of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, were on the agenda, and it was pointed out that there were serious problems in patients’ access to medicines after the investigation and arrests regarding prescriptions.
The statement said that as a result, doctors had stopped using the online insurance system to write prescriptions because they feared prosecution.
There has been a long-term study of the e-prescription and medicines- tracking system, the recommendations of which have yet to be put into effect, the statement said. However, it is the only way to solve these long-running issues.
“In the system that will come into effect on January 1, it is stated that the insured person under the age of 40 and their dependents, such as their children, will be paid a single prescription for four items of medicine. This means that in a family with two children, only one child’s medicines will be paid for. It is stated that people over the age of 40 will be paid for a maximum of eight medicines, four items each, in two prescriptions. This is clearly contrary to the article ‘Provision of medicines during the treatment’ in the 4th paragraph of Article 73 of the Social Security Law, which defines the services to be provided to the insured.
“We openly invite the relevant ministry and department to completely fulfil their legal obligations and make decisions that respect patient rights“, the statement said.
The Association said that the so-called new system to be introduced on 1 January was in fact, a rehash of the old system and did not improve control systems because it did not improve monitoring of internal departmental actions.
“The Social Insurance Department management council should work together with the KTTB and physicians when making decisions about prescription review and the list of drugs within the scope of insurance.
“The relevant ministry and department administration must act together with professional organisations and unions and find a common solution”, the statement concluded.
