Next week the Ministry of Health will sign a memorandum of cooperation with the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation as a result of which the Moldovan authorities will receive 4 million Swiss Francs for improving the primary medical assistance services, Minister of Health Ruxanda Glavan stated in an interview for Radio Free Europe, quoted by IPN.

Speaking about the objectives for 2017, the minister said a new Law on Medicines will be promoted this year to contribute to improving the access to medical treatment. This is to be debated in February and to be adopted by Parliament during the spring session. Afterward, there will be approved several regulations adjusted to the Community acquis so that the national policies are aligned with the European ones concerning access to the drugs market, quality control, inspection procedures and prices.

Ruxanda Glavan said one of the key tasks of the health system and the Ministry is to work out regulations on the financing of health policies. “There are several essential things that should be done, the so-called norms and criteria that the National Health Insurance Company applies when it agrees the financing for the health system,” she stated.

The minister noted that a series of measures were taken in 2016 to improve the management of hospitals. Now the authorities are close to finalizing the regulations concerning performance indicators for hospital directors. 2017 will be the first year when the hospital managers will work based on performance indicators and it is expected that performance will improve in the course of 2018.

According to Ruxanda Glavan, another important thing that the Ministry of Health aims to do in 2017 is to implement an information system for monitoring hospital activity at the national hospitals which it founded. 2017 for the Ministry of Health will mean a year with many objectives so that what was done for persons suffering from hepatitis is multiplied and the waiting time for those who need surgery for different diseases is maximally reduced. 2017 will be the first year when salaries will be paid according to the new formula during all 12 months. The benefits of this system will be assessed in July so that the fixed part of the salary is annually indexed as of April 1, 2018.