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27-04-2023

Patients’ access to reimbursed medical aids is improved

Iliustracija

As of 1 May 2023, if a specialist decides, reimbursed medical aids (MA) can be purchased before their expiry, if they were lost for justifiable reasons. Also, additional changes will enter into force for patients with diabetes Type I – additional reimbursed MA for the measurement of glucose in blood can be prescribed, if it is found out that obtained aids are not suitable for medical reasons. The Ministry of Health initiated the changes considering patients’ needs.

There are situations, when patients, who purchased one or other medical aid, lose it because of a fire, theft, etc. A new MA had to be bought by their own funds earlier. From now, in presence of these situations, a doctor can issue a new compensation prescription.

Other part of changes will significantly contribute to the improvement of patients’ diabetes control. The state compensates modern glucose monitoring systems, however, sometimes, after the purchase it is found out that it does not fit to the patient. From now, these patients will be able to continue to use diagnostic strips for glucose monitoring or another manufacturer’s system for continuous glucose monitoring (CGMS), if a doctor issues a new prescription,” viceminister of the Ministry of Health, Aurimas Pečkauskas, states.

Currently, personal health care specialists have the right to repeatedly (earlier than it is indicated in formerly issued pharmaceuticals under the note “Sufficient until”) issue a prescription with a note “On the specialist’s decision”.

A new amendment to the Prescription Writing Rules (Minister’s of Health Order No. 112), which will enter into force on 1 May, establishes cases when a personal health care specialist may repeatedly prescribe a reimbursed MA, while the patient still uses a compensated MA prescribed earlier:

1. when a patient cannot use a reimbursed MA for medical reasons (as set out in the conditions for reimbursement in the List C of Reimbursed Medical Aids (“List C”);

2. when a patient lost them for reasonable grounds such as illegal actions of other people, natural disasters, fire, accident or other.

A personal health care specialist, who has repeatedly issued a reimbursed MA, will have to make a note “On the specialist’s decision” in an electronic (in the field for notes of a pharmacy specialist) or paper prescription. This note will have to be approved with a specialist’s signature and personal stamp in a paper prescription.

As of 1 May 2023, an amendment to the List C will also come into force, it sets out cases when a doctor may prescribe reimbursable diagnostic strips for glucose or a continuous glucose monitoring system from another manufacturer for medical reasons, where patients are already reimbursed for a continuous glucose monitoring system. This change has been coordinated with the Lithuanian Society of Endocrinology and the Lithuanian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

(Piktochart photo)

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Last updated: 09-08-2023

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