The Secretary of State for Health Promotion promised today by the end of the year to have a proposal for a new model of medical commissions, as well as solve the problem of collecting information.
Margherida Tavares, speaking before the MPs of the Parliamentary Committee on Health, where she was heard on the issue, said that the work is being carried out by a team made up of representatives from different areas of government and said: “I guarantee that we have all the tools this year.”
The official explained that the tech team is working to come up with a “new model that allows you to respond to new demands” by making the process “smoother and more efficient” and acknowledged the difficulties that arise from a lack of uniformity in collecting information. from various institutions.
He explained that the work is being carried out in three areas: reviewing disability tables to agree on the concepts of “without compromising the benefits acquired”, working on information systems to address the problems of homogenization and equal access to the system, as well as interoperability, and, finally, to define a new model, to understand who makes up the medical boards, in what situations they can be dissolved, and what cases should be reviewed.
Margarida Tavares acknowledged that “with the efforts made” it is impossible to restore the delays, explaining that “the inputs already exceed the installed capacity.”
Regarding the Livre bill that led to this hearing – to maintain a transitional regime for the issuance of multi-purpose sick leaves for cancer patients and to extend the validity of sick leaves for people with disabilities until medical commission delays are eliminated – the Minister recalled that the renewal of certificates has already become possible.
While acknowledging delays in medical boards and the subsequent issuance of disability certificates, the official stressed that the model should be revised because “it does not meet the new requirements.”
Emphasizing that this work “cannot be exclusive to public health physicians,” the official insisted, “The model must be evaluated in multiple dimensions.”
The Secretary of State highlighted a problem with data collection—agencies don’t collect it in the same way and systems aren’t interconnected—to explain why she couldn’t provide an accurate number of people on a waiting list to see a doctor.
“We don’t have an information system [completamente interligado] and this is very relevant. Data is not collected equally by each ARS (…). Somewhere because of the total backlog, somewhere there are cases when there are already appointments, somewhere there are cases when the joint has already been made, but the certificate has not been issued, ”he explained.
As for the recovery of delays, he said that between 2011 and 2018, an average of 55,000 joints per year were performed, and in 2022 alone, more than 85,000 joints were already performed.
“If we extrapolate, we get about 100,000 people,” he gave an example.
The minister also acknowledged that the (disability) table needed to be revised, noting that “there are solutions for disability that did not exist in the past” and that “the same health problem may no longer cause the same degree of disability as in the table was ready.
With regard to dismissals of medical boards, he also acknowledged that there are situations and there are dynamic mechanisms that can adapt to the health situation, saying that in oncological situations one can “simplify a lot”.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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