The mandatory electronic prescriptions for diabetics and for prescribing antibiotics have multiplied the price of a doctor's examination for some patients who, since April 1, have no alternative to a paper prescription. The reason is a new fee for the electronic issuance of a prescription, which doctors introduce on their own. This is reported by "Now", indicating many examples of patients who are forced to pay more than the usual BGN 2.90.
Fee "computer" it is imposed even for patients who have chronic diseases and are exempt from the user fee. There is, for example, such a question on the website of the health fund.
"I have TELK and I have a disease included in the list of exemptions from the user fee. I went to the GP today and was told there was a "e-prescription fee,", claims a patient. The NHIF replies that for the medical assistance provided, the health-insured citizen only pays a user fee of BGN 2.90 for the examination (it is BGN 1 for pensioners), unless he is exempt from it.
The Ministry of Health confirmed the same. "It is not right to have a user fee for issuing an electronic prescription, and such a thing is not regulated anywhere," the Ministry of Health pointed out, after we described to them a case of a diabetic whose fee suddenly increased from BGN 2.90 to BGN 8. And in this case it turned out that a fee of BGN 5 was introduced for electronic service.
There are also complaints in the mutual aid groups that doctors are already asking for BGN 10. One of them explained to his patient that he himself decided "administratively" to raise the fee, although it works with the health fund. Some general practitioners do not hide this novelty in the price list. On the Internet, for example, you can find an advertisement of a doctor who claims that an electronic prescription can be issued or renewed without visiting the office, and the price of the service is BGN 10.
Patients with diseases included in a special list to the National Framework Agreement, children up to 18 years of age, non-working family members, pregnant and giving birth up to 45 days after birth, socially weak, war veterans and military disabled, cancer patients are exempt from the user fee. , medical specialists, health insured persons suffering from diseases with over 71% reduced working capacity and others.
There is also a problem of unclear fees with the notes that parents use to excuse their children's absences. GPs massively ask for money for them. The Ministry of Health initially announced that the note was a legitimate result of an examination, therefore no additional charge should be made. In the end, however, the position of the doctors prevailed, that issuing this note is a service that does not fall into the basic package of medical activities undertaken by the fund.