Health Ministry tightens control over private medical practice

To ensure the rights and improve safety of services for the population, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine proposes to prohibit to individual entrepreneurs to have practice in 30 medical specialties, the Information-Analytical Bulletin of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine informs.

This prohibition, according to the draft order of the Ministry of Health, posted on its official web-site, applies, among others, to such specialized areas as “Anesthesiology,”“Children's Anesthesiology,” “Children's Gynecology,” “Children's Neurosurgery,” “Infectious Diseases,” “Medicine of Emergency,” “Neurosurgery,” “Oncology,” “Gynecological Oncology,” “Oncosurgery,” “Orthopedics and Traumatology,” “Radiotherapy,” “Radiology,” “Transplantology,” “Toxicology,” “Surgery,” and “Surgery of Heart and Great Arteries.”

Health Ministry experts say the current licensing provisions for economic activities in medical practice do not allow the regulatory authorities to fully and objectively assess the compliance of individual entrepreneurs with the legislation, or check the applicants for availability of the required material and technical base, their ability to use advanced technologies, or to ensure the rights and safety of patients.

Therefore an important need exists to tighten the requirements and measures to individuals who carry out private medical practice, as well as limit their capabilities in this field to ensure a full and effective control on the part of the state.