Patients stuck waiting, or paying €25, when doctors run out of referrals

Local doctorsgesyghshealthhioosakpatientsTop News Patients stuck waiting, or paying €25, when doctors run out of referrals Patients Stuck Waiting, Or Paying €25, When Doctors Run Out Of Referrals Relevant News Patients stuck waiting, or paying €25, when doctors run out of referrals 18 June 2026 Council to decide whether Limassol Zoo animals will stay or go 18 June 2026 César Escudero Andaluz: From a space of freedom, the internet has turned into a space of surveillance 18 June 2026 Marilena Panayi 18 June 2026 FacebookXWhatsAppEmailPrintViber Charalambos Papadopoulos, president of the Cyprus Federation of Patient Associations (OSAK), called yesterday for a review of restrictions the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) imposes on personal doctors within the General Health System (GHS), saying the rules delay patients’ access to specialists and force some to pay unnecessary fees. Papadopoulos was speaking at a press conference presenting the results of a large nationwide survey on citizens’ experience with their personal doctor. “It is unthinkable for a patient’s visit to a specialist to be delayed,” he said, because personal doctors are unable to issue further referrals once they reach the HIO’s monthly average. He said it was unacceptable for patients to be forced to pay a €25 contribution when their personal doctor had reached that monthly referral average, as set out under the HIO’s restriction. He said the number of referrals “cannot serve as a quality criterion for personal doctors’ compensation,” adding that some of the HIO’s other criteria also needed adjustment. Papadopoulos said OSAK constantly receives complaints from patients “who tell us that their personal doctor either refused to issue a referral,” or said it would be dealt with the following month, citing the HIO’s monthly referral average. He said the quality criteria used to determine personal doctors’ compensation should be revised and expanded, to work in the interest of both doctors and the system and, above all, patients. He said prevention indicators should be incorporated into primary care, doctor training strengthened, and personal doctors themselves supported, describing them as perhaps the most central pillar of the GHS’s operation. He said specialist doctors also needed to support their personal doctor colleagues’ work. While personal doctors are required to document the reasoning behind every referral, he said, the feedback they receive back from specialists is often limited to minimal or no clinical information, “or even just a full stop,” which he said complicates continuity of care. Organised patients said the HIO applies a series of restrictions that constrain personal doctors and cause considerable hardship for patients, citing bans on personal doctors prescribing certain medicines as a factor behind increased referrals to specialists, even in cases that do not require specialised assessment. Examples cited included: In Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), personal doctors cannot prescribe certain long-acting inhaled anticholinergics (LAMAs), resulting in many patients being referred to pulmonologists solely to renew or obtain a prescription. In migraine management, personal doctors’ inability to prescribe triptans leads to unnecessary referrals to neurologists. For conditions such as hypothyroidism and type 2 diabetes, which could easily be monitored and managed effectively by personal doctors, referral to an endocrinologist is required. Significant obstacles also exist in managing osteoporosis: even with a documented diagnosis, personal doctors lack access to all available treatment options and cannot refer patients for basic tests such as vitamin D level checks. Papadopoulos said referrals are required even when patients have already been diagnosed, are registered in chronic patient registries, and are receiving long-term or lifelong treatment. He said it was also necessary to expand patients’ right to be referred by their personal doctor for diagnostic tests, by lifting current restrictions on CT scans, MRI scans and specialised or laboratory tests where there are clear, documented clinical indications. He added that instead of blanket bans, “scientifically documented protocols and guidelines” could be adopted to ensure the rational use of health services without creating unnecessary obstacles for patients. How the HIO responds Commenting on OSAK’s remarks, HIO general director Efi Kammitsi agreed with the points raised by organised patients, saying the GHS was “designed on the right foundations, but it needs to develop,” and that these were “things that we, too, within the Organisation, very often discuss among ourselves.” She said the HIO and other stakeholders needed to study everything that had been raised together, “so that we can move forward.” Subscribe to our Newsletter Latest News Council to decide whether Limassol Zoo animals will stay or go César Escudero Andaluz: From a space of freedom, the internet has turned into a space of surveillance The hidden history of Afro-Cypriots A shared table in Lympia: ABR’s Trapezoma turns to decentralisation Things to do on Thursday, June 18 Clear weather and high of 36 degrees expected Thursday Investigative powers for the Independent Authority Follow en.philenews on Google News and be the first to know all the news about Cyprus and the world.