Oncological Patient program in Moldova cuts diagnostic wait times
People with cancer benefit from faster access to advanced diagnostic tests. The waiting time for these patients for CT scans and MRI has been significantly reduced, from 21 days earlier this year to just 3-5 days now.
Every year, over 10,000 people are diagnosed with cancer at the Oncological Institute in the capital.
Igor Sârbu found out in June last year that his wife, Anastasia, had a brain tumour. She received an MRI scan at no cost, with the expenses covered by the National Health Insurance Company. He mentions that she had four surgeries, both in Moldova and Romania.
“The appointment took a maximum of one week; we were very satisfied. My wife was in critical condition, and it was an emergency. The MRI was done very quickly. It’s difficult, but we press on and don’t give up. Moreover, we stay in touch with the doctors at the Institute. They help us a lot, both emotionally and physically,” said Igor Sârbu.
The number of patients being examined at the Oncological Institute is increasing, says director Ruslan Baltaga. According to him, while 6,400 people were examined in 2022, between 800 and 1,000 patients visit the oncologists each month now.
“A patient, a citizen of the Republic of Moldova, diagnosed with cancer based on morpho pathological evidence, goes to the social service at the CNAS to obtain a disability rating. With this disability, even if the citizen is not insured, they automatically become covered by health insurance,” explained Ruslan Baltaga.
The specialist sends a request to the National Health Insurance Company, which schedules the patient for a CT scan or MRI, said oncologist Diana Cebotari. “We launched the ‘Oncological Patient’ program in April 2023. Before the initiation of this project, there were long waiting times, especially for high-performance investigative services, such as MRI and CT scans. This negatively impacted the satisfaction of oncological patients, as the diagnosis was already established, but we couldn’t assess the extent of the disease.”
On average, 8-10 patients per day are examined at the Oncological Institute, where there is one CT scanner, said radiologist Marina Nepotu. “The CT scanner is an innovative, high-performance tool in investigating cancer patients. It allows us to identify the primary lesion and assess whether the treatment is effective. The CT scanner is indispensable for surgical interventions or complex treatments, such as those involving chemotherapy or radiotherapy.”
According to the National Health Insurance Company, over 11,000 investigations were performed in the first 10 months of this year, totaling more than 37 million lei. Approximately 1,000 people benefit each month from the services included in the “Oncological Patient” program.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
