From next year, the addition of new medical services related to cardiovascular, neurosurgery, general surgery, urological, ophthalmological, traumatological, and laboratory services to the Services Package, and the expansion of the range of existing services are planned.
The editorial office reports that this information was provided by the Compulsory Medical Insurance Agency in response to an inquiry from Milli.Az.
It was stated that these include complex surgical interventions such as incisionless vascular surgeries, traumatological interventions, abdominal, brain, and eye surgeries.
At the same time, it was noted that from next year, the gradual coverage of prescription medicines in outpatient settings by compulsory medical insurance is planned. In the first phase, medicines for cardiovascular system diseases will be included in the Services Package:
"It should be noted that the Cabinet of Ministers has adopted a number of decisions regarding the regulation of medicine provision, with the aim of improving the supply of medicines to the population and increasing transparency and financial sustainability in the medical insurance system. These decisions have established the compensation mechanism for medicines through compulsory medical insurance, as well as the criteria for their inclusion in and exclusion from the Services Package."
It was also added, taking into account that a positive list is currently being prepared, that this list will include antihypertensive drugs used in cardiovascular diseases. It was emphasized that after the list is approved, information on all medicines – active substance, dosages, applicable diseases, and compensation rates – will be posted on the official website, and the list will be updated quarterly.
According to the Agency's information, medicines will be prescribed via electronic prescriptions. Patients will be able to obtain medicines prescribed via electronic prescriptions from private pharmacies that have a contract with the Agency. These private pharmacies will be marked with special logos so that citizens can easily find them:
"Currently, necessary preparatory work is being carried out for the coverage of medicines in outpatient settings through compulsory medical insurance – including the integration of electronic prescriptions with the compulsory medical insurance database, the establishment of cooperation mechanisms with pharmacies, and the ensuring of accountability."