He ordered the hospital to remedy the non-compliance. Photo: Dnevnik
During the review of the waiting lists for orthopedic services in the hospital in Novi Sad, several inconsistencies were found
In the inspection of the waiting lists for orthopedic services in the hospital in Novi Sad, the health inspectorate found several inconsistencies. He ordered the hospital to eliminate the non-compliance, and in the future he will also determine individual responsibility.
As part of the inspection, the inspectorate checked all waiting lists from 2025 for pelvic, knee and hip X-rays, hip arthroplasty and knee arthroplasty.
During the inspection, the inspectors found that when placing patients on the waiting list for the medical service X-ray of the pelvis and X-ray of the knee, the degree of urgency of the patient’s referral was not taken into account, and therefore there was a rush between patients. “Thus, some patients with a lower level of urgency were treated before patients with a higher level of urgency, which is against the law on patient rights,” the inspectorate told STA.
For the health services of X-ray of the pelvis and X-ray of the knee, the hospital did not keep information on the existence of a medical indication for placing the patient on a specific appointment, which was also in violation of the law.
For the medical services of X-ray of the pelvis, X-ray of the knee, endoprosthesis of the hip and endoprosthesis of the knee, the hospital did not maintain a separate waiting list for patients who want to receive the medical service outside the network of the public health activity, but, in violation of the law, enrolled these patients on the waiting list for individual medical services in the network of the public health activity.
On the waiting list for the knee X-ray medical service, the hospital did not keep information about the referral document number, which is a mandatory element of the waiting list. It also did not place patients on the waiting list within the statutory deadlines.
In its information system, the hospital did not provide real and up-to-date data on the type of medical service that is forwarded to the eReferral and eOrder collection. She also removed patients from waiting lists for hip arthroplasty and knee arthroplasty for reasons not specified by law, they found.
According to the inspectorate, several thousand patients were placed on the waiting lists that were examined. In doing so, they identified 76 cases of overtaking, in which the degree of urgency was not taken into account when placing the patient on the waiting list, six cases in which there was no managed information on the medical indication on the waiting list, 51 cases in which there was no managed separate waiting list for patients who expressed the desire to have the service performed outside the public health network – self-paying, and ten cases in which the waiting list did not contain managed information on the number of the patient’s referral document.
In three cases, patients were not placed on the waiting list in time, in two cases, true and up-to-date information on the type of medical service was not provided on the waiting list, and in 103 cases, patients were unjustifiably removed from the waiting list, the inspectors found.
The inspection procedure has not yet been completed. With the regulatory decision, the hospital was ordered to eliminate irregularities, and in the continuation of the inspection procedure, the individual responsibility of individuals connected with the registration of patients on waiting lists will also be established, the inspectorate wrote.
Supervision in the hospital was also carried out by the Novi Sad regional unit of the Institute for Health Insurance of Slovenia (ZZZS). She found that the waiting list at the hospital’s orthopedic department was managed poorly or irregular in certain parts. At the same time, 47 new referrals were issued without justification. That is why ZZZS will shortly submit a proposal for a misdemeanor, they stated for STA on Monday.
Both the health inspectorate and ZZZS carried out inspections at the hospital after an extraordinary professional inspection of its orthopedic department at the end of last year showed that the head of the department, Kavčič, artificially lengthened the waiting list, while at the same time diverting patients to the private institution where he operated. The management dismissed him as head of the department and terminated his employment contract, as a result of which Kavčič is now suing the hospital.
