New NSZU Rules: Which Directions Family Doctors Can No Longer Issue.

Natalia Husak, who heads the National Health Service, announced changes to the rules for referring patients for examinations in Ukraine since 2021. Now family doctors will not have the ability to issue referrals for complex diagnostic procedures such as magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and others.

Now only specialists who directly treat the patient will be able to issue referrals for such procedures. The aim of these changes is to avoid unnecessary examinations and reduce cases of conducting unnecessary procedures without appropriate justification.

'Previously, family doctors could issue referrals for most examinations: from ultrasound and X-rays to magnetic resonance and computed tomography. Now primary care physicians can issue referrals only for such diagnostic procedures: ultrasound (of the abdominal cavity, thyroid gland, bladder, etc.); endoscopic examinations of the digestive, respiratory, urological, and gynecological tracts; basic laboratory tests' - Husak explained.

According to Natalia Husak, all these diagnostic procedures will be paid for by the National Health Service of Ukraine within the framework of the package 'Prevention, diagnosis, observation, and outpatient treatment.'