Last week, the Government of the Republic of Slovenia approved the draft Health Services Act. This Act is the result of a year-long debate on the future of healthcare in Slovenia, and lays the foundation for new healthcare reform.

Healthcare in Slovenia is regulated by several acts which form an inseparable whole. Since Slovenia became independent, healthcare legislation has seen few substantial changes. The current situation and certain issues that have arisen call for pressing amendments, particularly as healthcare plays a vital role in the lives of citizens and is thus at the centre of public interest.

The current act divides healthcare into three categories depending on their complexity and accessibility: primary healthcare (basic healthcare and pharmacy services), which is the most strongly inked with the population and basic healthcare needs; secondary healthcare, which covers more demanding treatment in terms of both technology and organisation, including hospitalisation; and tertiary healthcare – which comprises the most demanding types of outpatient and hospital treatment, designing clinical policies, stepwise diagnostic processes and treatment, collaborating with other hospitals, and post-graduate education programmes for healthcare workers and support staff.

The draft Health Services Act introduces a number of changes regarding the organisation and provision of health services, including:

• Read More;); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px">Community health centres take the central role in coordinating and providing health services at the primary level.
• Read More;); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px">Introducing the possibility of the joint provision of individual specialties (e.g. paediatrics, gynaecology, on-call time, physiotherapy, laboratory) by institutes and concession holders at the primary and secondary levels, which is an important step towards streamlining their operations.
• Read More;); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px">A new classification and organisation of hospitals, in accordance with standards determining the network of public healthcare activities based on the needs of the population.
• Read More;); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px">Strict regulation of procedures and criteria for granting concession licences.
  The introduction of expert councils in public institutes for professional supervision and assistance in managing institutes.
• Read More;); background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; background-position: 5px 5px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px">Rules on the time and place for providing private healthcare services, which also applies to public institutes and concession holders. The act also stipulates criteria for the provision of private healthcare services and sets out clear rules on practice. Even if a public institute meets the criteria for providing private healthcare, the revenue thus generated will be retained by the institute, not individual healthcare providers. Also, all relevant details on the staff involved, the time, costs, etc. of private healthcare services provided will be required to be made public.

A new quality assurance system for healthcare services will be introduced, requiring all practitioners to publish the results of the services they provide on their web sites. A quality assurance agency will be established to oversee the introduction of appropriate standards, their implementation and the accreditation of operators/practitioners who meet the set standards and criteria.

The Health Care and Health Insurance Act is next to be amended, while new regulations are being drafted pursuant to the newly proposed Health Services Act laying down the criteria for the public healthcare service network, on job descriptions at different levels and in types of healthcare services, and on concessions and several other matters.

Source; Government of Slovenia