The patients can change the primary medical-sanitary institution and the family doctor when they want, throughout the year, no matter whether they are medically insured or not, but not more often than once in six months of the last change, except for cases when the person moves to liver in another town or village. The patients will be informed about the necessity of registering with a family doctor by a campaign that was launched on December 14, IPN reports.

Dumitru Parfentiev, director of the National Health Insurance Company, said the campaign will improve the situation in the field and will create a healthy competition between doctors so that they provide better services and attract more patients.

According to Minister of Health, Labor and Social Protection Stela Grigoras, when the person registers with the family doctor, this is included in the health system. The informing of patients is essential for making them more responsible for their health.

To change the family doctor, the patients go to the family doctor of their choice and obtain the consent of this. They later fill out an application form concerning the replacement of the family doctor. The form can be taken from the family doctor, at the National Health Insurance Company or downloaded from the Company’s website. If the patient chooses a family doctor of another medical institution than the one in which this was served, the application is filed to the local offices of the Company and the registration is confirmed within ten days.

The family doctor can refuse to accept new patients if the number of their patients is higher than the norm or if it hasn’t been six months of the last change of the family doctor by the applicant. If the patient chooses a family doctor who serves another territory than the one where the person lives, this will cover the travel expenses for the family doctor and/or the medical assistant to his domicile whenever it is necessary.

There were also launched two video clips, in Romanian and Russian, which explain the steps that need to be taken to change the family doctor. The videos will be disseminated by the national mass media.

About 500 applications to change the family doctor are processed monthly. Most of these are from persons who live in Chisinau.