The aging of general practitioners in Targovishte region is a problem no less important than the low their number, says Ivaylo Iliev, acting head of the Regional Health Insurance Fund (HRHI) in Targovishte.
The majority of family doctors in the region are aged 50 and over. Several of the practitioners are over 70 years old, and there is also a current doctor at the age of 86, the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency listed.
There is barely one family doctor in the age groups under 30 – 39 years and 40 – 49 years. This is an alarming tendency that will manifest itself extremely powerfully in a dozen years, when the current primary health care practitioners will generally be of retirement age, warned Iliev.
The average number of patients registered with one general practitioner in the Targovishte region is 2,600. The number of those with health insurance is around 2,000.
The smallest number of patients is 558. Over 4,500 patients have a total of three family doctors.
Currently, there are 42 general practitioners (GPs) practicing in Targovishtko. Most of them are in the regional city – 24. Two family doctors each practice in the small municipalities of the region – Antonovo and Opaka. There are seven medics each in Omurtag and Popovo, the head of the RZOK registered – Targovishte. According to the v.i.d. head of the National Security Agency – Targovishte Ivaylo Iliev in the region, an imbalance is being monitored on the occasion of the territorial systematization of doctors.
Ivaylo Iliev is a long-term deputy director of the institution, having been in its ranks since its inception 25 years ago. He remembers years when the number of GPs was higher. Only a few years ago it exceeded 50. The reasons for the decline in the number of personal physicians are diverse. Some are redirected to practicing the acquired competence, and others drop out due to retirement or death.
In 2023, the National Health Card was updated, which defines the minimum needs of the population by region. The estimated need is 66 GPs per 100,000 people for the Targovishte region. Today, their number is 42. There are a total of 110,000 patients registered with them, specified Ivaylo Iliev.
According to the information of the RHOC – Targovishte, at the end of September, it turns out that barely 75% of the residents who chose the GP in the region have continuous health insurance rights. 82,000 people have permanent paid health insurance. And the remaining nearly 28,000 of our residents are uninsured.