Patients without general practitioner will have access to General Practice consultations, announces Luís Cabral
The Regional Secretary for Health announced today in Praia da Vitória the establishment of agreements for the provision of general practice consultations to "patients of the Regional Health Service who are not followed by a general practitioner."
Speaking at the ceremony to mark the World Health Day, Luís Cabral stressed that the agreements for the provision of General Practice Consultations to patients of the Regional Health Service "were sent for publication by Terceira Health Unit."
"This is another major step towards the improvement of the Regional Health Service. It marks the implementation of a solution that will provide general practice consultations to all Azoreans without general practitioner," said the Regional Secretary.
The reinforcement of the health care coverage by general practitioners was one the goals set by the Regional Government. This measure will be now implemented in Terceira Health Unit and, according to Luís Cabral, it will be extended to São Miguel Health Unit, which is the other island where the population is not fully covered."
"We believe that we are establishing the measures to ensure that the Regional Health Service is about to become a more efficient and stable service that will be even closer to the population. This justifies and compensates the financial effort made by all Azoreans," added the Regional Secretary.
Patients will have access to the health care provided for in these agreements by submitting a declaration issued by the Health Unit, valid for the current year, to the entity under contract. It should certify that these patients are not followed by a general practitioner so that they can have access to two annual consultations to monitor their health.
The requests for complementary diagnostic and therapeutic procedures will be handled by the Health Unit or by the entities under contract with this institution the same way as the requests made by doctors working at the Health Unit.
The celebrations of World Health Day that took place today in Praia da Vitória were held under the theme of food safety, a motto defined by the World Health Organisation with the aim of protecting consumers from the risks of food poisoning.