Reforma MSEC: The Ministry of Health has developed a draft law and started public consultations

Reforma MSEC: The Ministry of Health has developed a draft law and started public consultations

Identifying human needs and maximizing the return to society with the opportunity for active living and employment is the overall goal of reforming the medical-social examination system. This is a systemic and comprehensive reform that includes changes in the medical and social spheres. 

On October 10, a meeting was held with representatives of public organizations and the expert community, where a bill was presented, which provides for systemic changes in the medical part of the examination.

The developed bill introduces changes to 27 Ukrainian laws and codes.

Reforming the examination is one of the key stages of change. A person should not have to spend time on "confirming" a severe diagnosis—the criteria for referring to the examination must be clear and transparent. Therefore, it is proposed to change the name of the examination. Instead of MSE, it will be an assessment of a person’s daily functioning.

Simultaneously, systemic changes are taking place in the process of medical-social examination itself. In particular, during the development of the change package, it was proposed to move the examination to cluster and supercluster hospitals, which will ensure accessibility for individuals and improve the staffing component of the commissions.

Special attention is paid to the digitalization of the MSEC during the examination process. The mandatory use of the eHealth system for decision-making is one of the anti-corruption safeguards. This will make the process more transparent and based on already existing historical medical data.

 Overall, the following changes were proposed:

• Conduct examinations in cluster and supercluster hospitals, where all necessary specialists and opportunities for additional examinations are available on-site;
• Referrals for examination will be based on clear criteria, confirmed through the electronic health system, with the introduction of an electronic referral for examination;
• Family or personal doctors will be able to refer for examination independently, without involving a medical consultative commission;
• When making decisions and determining a person’s needs, data entered during rehabilitation will be considered, and the commission itself can refer for further examination;
• A separate tool for assessing a person’s needs will be created, which will also be used in other areas in the future;
• It is proposed to change the financing order for the updated examination—funds from a separate budget program will be paid by the National Health Service of Ukraine for each assessment conducted.

Changes will not affect the status of a person with a disability with the determination of the appropriate group (the process of establishing disability will be carried out by commissions in parallel with the new examination), nor will they change social guarantees for persons with disabilities or the process of conducting medical-social examinations for children.