A hotline for the protection of the rights of patients was launched with the support of the “Open Society Georgia Foundation”. Since January, 2014, approximately 3,000 citizens have already accessed the service through telephone, website and social networks.
On September 6th, the Georgian Health Law and Bioethics Society submitted the First Annual Report to NGOs working on human rights issues, as well as to professional associations, medical institutions, the Public Defender’s Office, Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs, insurance companies and independent experts.
Results of the analysis of hotline appeals in 2014 included in the report consist of the geographical distribution, the share of anonymous appeals versus the insured population, the content of appeals, etc.
The analysis of hotline inquiries revealed that the population is not adequately informed about specific services. In fact, often there is an uncertainty with regard to the co-financing of services and, more significantly, there are problems identifying patients requiring emergency medical service assistance. Other acute problems found are many: unreasonable compensation for services by the patient; difficulty of getting refunds from the hospital; unequal conditions within the framework of different programs; lack of resources; qualification of personne; ; lack of unified standards,;difficulty of providing care for patients with chronic health problems and without ability to move; limitation of choosing a medical institution; unreasonable demands from the citizens and difficulties faced by medical personnel while providing professional assistance.
The project is being implemented by the Georgian Health Law and Bioethics Society.
