One third of patients in Slovakia have felt the deteriorating availability of health care as a result of the coronavirus epidemic, according to a representative survey of the Association for the Protection of Patients' Rights (AOPP). According to the survey, the frequency of doctor visits has significantly decreased, not only in general but also in specialized clinics. As the survey showed, in only 36 percent of cases do patients go personally to their GP or specialist doctor's office. These days, health care is largely being provided through telephone or e-mail consultation, with electronic prescriptions being issued. "Patients are asking us these days how to proceed if a doctor refuses to physically examine them. Many of them find that they can't even call their doctor," said AOPP head Mária Lévyová.
According to Lévyová, much attention is being focused on patients who have tested positive for coronavirus, while the tens of thousands of patients with severe, sometimes life-threatening conditions are being forgotten. As she added, the insufficient evaluation of an acute condition and the postponement of procedures and examinations, including preventive examinations, can reduce a patient's chances of successful treatment, in the end costing the Slovak healthcare system far greater sums of money.
