Complaints about poor quality controls in service provision by diagnostic centres, about the introduction of outdated and out-of-spec systems, for kickbacks by doctors who are shareholders in such centres, as well as complaints of excessive referrals and non-targeted diagnosis to the detriment of patients, were heard on Thursday before the Parliamentary Health Committee, during the examination of an issue concerning the operation of diagnostic centres, their technology and know-how in the context of the operation of the GHS.
MPs and relevant stakeholders stressed that it is imperative to review the legislation governing the operation of diagnostic centres, in order to correct the gap in the legislation by improving and upgrading the services offered to patients.
During the consideration of the matter, it was pointed out to members of the Committee that there are no defined specifications for the equipment available at each centre, with the result that human lives are put at risk.
Speaking before the relevant committee of the House of Representatives, the Head of the Department of Medical Physics of the OCYPY, Prodromos Kaplanis, said that for every two hundred full-body CT scans, one patient dies, while noting that many patients exposed to radiation contract cancer.
According to Mr. Kaplanis, there are no defined specifications for the machines, with the result -as he noted-a used machine costs 80 thousand euros and modern new machines cost one, two or more million euros, while depending on the value is the effectiveness or even the danger of a machine.
The Founder and Executive Director of the Medical Diagnostic MRI Centre "Agios Therissos", Thyrsos Posporis, denounced that there is a system of kickbacks in the health sector, referring to doctors who are shareholders in diagnostic centres and who send patients for unnecessary tests.
In response to a question, Posporis said that doctors are prohibited from being shareholders in diagnostic centres. He claimed that unnecessary operations are also performed.
He explained that "with the introduction of the GHS, many second-hand machines were introduced without checking the technology", adding that "we must finally correct the wrongs".
He spoke of the "commercialisation" of health care, noting that he has asked the Health Insurance Organisation to provide data on who the shareholders are in each diagnostic centre, who they send their cases to, what the cases are (whether pathological or not) and which ones are operated on and by whom.
"If this is answered," he said, "there will be a very good impetus to correct the wrongs."
"If this is answered," he said, "there will be a very good impetus to correct the wrongs.
He appealed for a continuation of the debate in the Health Committee and urged all stakeholders to take responsibility for improving the system for the benefit of the patient.
He asked the House to proceed, without further delay, to properly regulate the legislation to achieve high quality delivery to patients.
In addition, with regard to the "kickbacks" of doctors, Mr. Posporis said an investigation was underway by the Audit Office, which he said had asked the OAI to provide the information to which he referred during the Committee meeting.
The President of the Cyprus Radiology Society, Chrysa Tziakouri Siakalli, referred to the issue of over-referrals and non-targeted diagnosis to the detriment of patients, "with the result that OAI tries to curb this uncontrolled situation by putting obstacles to referrals or by other types of actions, which only have the effect of not performing the right examinations".
In addition, she said that "because of the increased demand, the compensation unit is falling and the proper centres are at risk, so they cannot afford good technological equipment and qualified staff."
He appealed on behalf of the Cyprus Radiology Society that the Parliamentary Health and Audit Committee and the Patients' Association look at the radiology issue with great care.
He said "radiologists are the ones who normally contract with OAI, and yet OAI contracts with any centre, from anybody, whether a doctor or a businessman, without any specific criteria, without the use of legislation and without any other criteria."
In response to a question, he said that OAI "pays everyone without a receipt and anyone who brings a machine, of any category, and does an examination", to add that PIS does not take any position, while the Cyprus Medical Council gives specialisations without any control and does not follow European criteria.
The President of the Cyprus Paraplegics Organisation and spokesman for the Federation of Cyprus Patients' Associations, Dimitris Lambrianides, said the OSAK believes that the OAI has a responsibility to buy quality services and pay providers fairly for them, adding that organized patients find it unthinkable that a center that has old-generation equipment and a center that has new-generation equipment should be paid the same amount.
He spoke of a gap in the control of the operation of these services, expressing the hope that changes would be made soon.
For his part, the President of PASYKI, Sotiris Koumas, said that he was frightened by these complaints, noting that doctors have the responsibility to announce bad news to patients.
The chairwoman of the Health Committee, DISY MP, Savvia Orphanidou, said that the Parliament will closely monitor the issue, to underline that the Ministry of Health informed in today's session that "finally the legislation is being prepared", which will govern the regulatory role and operation of all these diagnostic centres.
He said that the Health Committee expects to be presented with a specific timetable for when this very important legislation will be before it, and called on all stakeholders to work together so that they can correct the gap that exists in the legislation and the gap that exists in the quality of testing.
As she said, "we must be able to improve and upgrade the services to the patient in the end, so that we do not mourn victims of the gap in the legislation."
AKEL MP Marina Nicolaou immediately asked the Ministry of Health to submit the envisaged regulations so that, she added, "the legislative framework around which the operation of these centres must be governed can be regulated.
DIKO MP, Chrysanthos Savvidis, said that "in 2022 there is no legislative framework for the establishment and creation of diagnostic centres", adding that "today everyone, regardless of their status and without a legislative framework, opens a diagnostic centre without any quality control".
The deputy of the Movement of Environmentalists - Citizens' Cooperation, Charalambos Theopepembou, who signed the issue in the relevant committee, raised the issue of the handling of the machines, since, as he noted, "there are no specifications for their operators here either".
"It has become clear," he said, "that a legislative framework is needed to regulate the operation of these diagnostic centres, as well as a set of accreditations that the machines are maintained regularly and within the limits set by the manufacturer."
Source: CNA
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