Long before the start of the General Health System and the implementation of the institution of the Personal Physician, Pediatricians were already acting as personal doctors for our children: They knew their medical history from the beginning of their lives and monitored the development of their health.
With the implementation of the General Health System this role was strengthened, with Pediatricians being the initial access point for beneficiaries within the System, having the role of "guiding" patients through the System.
Today, over 200 Paediatricians are contracted to the GHS, providing primary health care to beneficiaries registered on their lists. Specifically, Pediatricians provide services related to the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and health promotion of children.
SELECTING A PEDIATRICIAN IN THE SYSTEM
The process of selecting a Pediatrician in the System is no different from that of selecting and enrolling in any Adult Personal Physician. Beneficiaries may search for OHA-contracted Pediatricians on either the Health Insurance Agency's website or the Beneficiary Portal. Children may register with a Pediatrician of their choice or of their parent/guardian's choice. A request to enroll in a Personal Physician list can be made in two ways: electronically, through the Beneficiary Portal or by visiting the Pediatrician.
If you submit a request to enroll in a Pediatrician through the Beneficiary Portal, the request is valid for a period of seven business days. If the Pediatrician does not respond within seven days, your request is cancelled and you are not considered to be enrolled in their beneficiary list. Upon completion of your enrollment on a Pediatrician's beneficiary list, you will receive a notification by email.
Should you wish to change your Pediatrician after enrollment, this can be done after six months from the date of enrollment on the current Pediatrician's beneficiary list.The restriction is varied only in two cases: for children up to three (3) months of age, who are entitled to change Pediatricians whenever they wish, and for children from three months to two years of age, who are entitled to change Pediatricians once every three months from the date of registration.
For beneficiaries who are approaching their 18th birthday and are registered on a list of Paediatrician beneficiaries, their guardians will receive a reminder that they must register them with an adult PI. A beneficiary who, on reaching 18 years of age, is still enrolled in a Pediatric PI is automatically enrolled on a list of adult PI beneficiaries and will receive a notification by email.
PEDIATRICS WITHIN THE GIS
A pediatrician is considered the beneficiary's Personal Physician, so a referral for a visit is not required, but may issue a referral for other Specialists. As with any other situation within the System, in order to receive health care a person must be registered on a PI list. For children up to the age of 15, they must be registered on the Children's Personal Physician Beneficiary List (i.e. the pediatrician).
Persons who have attained 15 years of age and until they reach 18 years of age are entitled to be registered on the list of either a personal physician for children or a personal physician for adults. From the age of 18 onwards, persons may only register with a personal physician for adults.
A pediatrician within the GHS, in addition to the standard medical check-up performed on a child, diagnoses and treats acute and chronic conditions and administers the necessary vaccines. In addition, a paediatrician has the responsibility for prevention and health promotion of children, which is graded according to age:
a) In children up to the age of 6 years, a paediatrician carries out examinations in accordance with the Child Health Booklet, issued by the Ministry of Health, applying the guidelines in the time frames described.
b) In children aged 6 to 14 years, a paediatrician provides advice on various topics such as accident prevention, risky behaviours, nutrition, sun protection, physical activity, sexual education, smoking and alcohol.
c) For children aged 15 to 18 years, the paediatrician shall provide advice on various topics such as physical development, sexual education, depression, harassment, alcohol, early detection of problems, sun protection, physical activity, nutrition and smoking.
The Child's Beneficiary Record
In order for a beneficiary to access their medical history, they must link their Beneficiary Record to their User Account. For adults, the User Account can only be linked to an adult beneficiary record. In the case of minor children, the guardian may link their User Account to their own personal beneficiary record. Both parents can have access. For non-Cypriot beneficiaries the automatic link is provided that the parents have previously registered with the GSC. However, if parents register after their children in the Beneficiary Record, they must ask the Paediatrician to add their details during the beneficiary verification/identification process at the child's first visit to the Paediatrician. If this is not done, it is best to contact the Health Insurance Agency.
Additional Charges
As with other cases within the System, beneficiaries are subject to certain charges for certain services within the System.
Specifically, there is a charge if a beneficiary visits their Pediatrician outside of business hours, i.e., weekdays after 8:00 p.m., Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. In these cases, the beneficiary will pay a charge of up to €25. Charges also arise when the beneficiary exceeds the set number of visits to a paediatrician in a year, with the charge amounting to €15.
As defined by the General Health System, the fixed number of visits per calendar year is as follows. [*]From the age of 1 to the age of 3: 8 visits. [*]From the age of 3 until the age of 6: 7 visits. [*]From the age of 6 until the age of 11: 4 visits. [*]From the age of 11 until the age of 18: 3 visits. [/LIST]
(EC/SC)
Contents of this article including associated images are owned by PIO
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or PIO
Source
