New rules for cataract and prosthetic surgeries: Priority lists removed from July 1
Access to cataract surgery and prosthetics will improve with the introduction of a new waiting-list management system. This system will be based on digitalizing the process and simplifying bureaucratic steps. The new rules will take effect on July 1.
Starting in July, electronic management of waiting lists will be one of the main innovations implemented by the National Health Insurance Company (CNAM). To facilitate this, CNAM has developed a dedicated module within the Automated Information System for Compulsory Health Insurance (SI AOAM). This module will provide clearer records and improve the administration of requests.
According to the new regulation, a patient will be placed on a waiting list only if they choose to undergo the surgical intervention at a public or private medical institution in the municipalities of Chisinau or Balti. For individuals who opt for services from a district-level medical provider contracted by CNAM, waiting lists will not apply.
A specialist doctor, either a traumatologist-orthopedist or an ophthalmologist, will inform the patient about the available medical institutions and issue a referral ticket to the selected healthcare provider. This information will be transmitted to the CNAM through the information system.
To ensure beneficiaries receive better information, patients will be notified via SMS about their inclusion on the waiting list and the medical institution assigned to them for the procedure.
The CNAM will review the waiting lists every six months. Patients may be removed from the list if they have received the procedure elsewhere, in the event of death, failure to appear for the operation, or the emergence of medical contraindications. However, they can be re-included on the list if they obtain a new referral ticket.
Additionally, the regulation eliminates priority waiting lists. Nonetheless, interventions that qualify as surgical emergencies will be performed outside of the waiting lists, as part of the general hospital healthcare program.
