The medical reform, which completely eliminated the system of medical and social expert commissions, was supposed to optimize all bureaucratic procedures and allow Ukrainians to receive the necessary status completely remotely. Government initiatives introduced modern formats for assessing a person’s daily functioning. The practical implementation of these changes immediately demonstrated the presence of serious barriers that forced migrants and seriously injured military personnel face when communicating with the domestic medical system.
Digitalization of Expertise and New Hospital Work Formats
Legislation introduced electronic document management and anonymous electronic queues for reviewing patient cases. The consultant of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, Dmytro Lufer, explains in detail the essence of the structural innovations.
“Medical and social expertise has become a daily functioning assessment”.
The official emphasizes the significant expansion of legal opportunities for people who are escaping the war abroad.
“For citizens who are abroad, there is a possibility of making a decision during a remote consideration of cases”.
The patient must sign a declaration with a Ukrainian specialist through a new electronic cabinet and submit properly certified foreign medical extracts. Teams of specialists analyze the received medical documents in electronic form without the physical presence of a person in the office. The medical institution administrator carefully checks the package of documents for completeness, after which the system itself determines the expert team, hiding any personal data of the patient until the day of the meeting.
Differences in Procedures Depending on International Agreements
The procedure for legalizing medical documents differs depending on the current country of residence of Ukrainians. The state has signed interstate agreements on social security with Bulgaria, Estonia, Spain, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic. Citizens in these European countries apply to local authorized bodies, which then independently transmit a special medical form directly to the Pension Fund of Ukraine. The Ukrainian Assessment Center carries out the official translation and full legalization of this international form. Citizens in other countries are forced to independently translate medical documents, certify them at the consulate or notary, and send them to the Ukrainian attending physician to form an electronic direction in the system.
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Bureaucratic Obstacles for Seriously Injured Military Personnel
Seriously injured military personnel during long and complex rehabilitation in foreign clinics often face the impossibility of timely legalizing their status. A soldier of the 37th Marine Brigade, Andriy Rybalko, lost both limbs while performing complex combat tasks. The defender describes his painful experience of communicating with domestic commissions from the Netherlands.
“The head of the VLA says, we cannot make you a remote VLA, because we do not have instructions”.
The man emphasizes the deep disappointment with the indifferent attitude of the medical and social system to the needs of veterans.
“I have the impression that people who are obliged to defend their country have more rights than fighters who are considered wounded”.
The wife of another military man, Yan, tells about the sudden termination of legal payments by the Pension Fund due to the impossibility of her husband personally arriving from Germany, where the veteran is undergoing continuous treatment after a severe spinal injury and complete loss of mobility.
Challenges for Cancer Patients and Families of Children with Developmental Disorders
Patients with severe life-threatening diagnoses systematically receive categorical refusals in documenting due to the strict requirement of doctors for a personal visit to the clinic in Ukraine. Ukrainian Irina is undergoing complex treatment for an oncological disease in Germany and openly shares the absurd requirements of Ukrainian specialists.
“The doctor on duty told me that only in person. We can sign you up, come”.
The woman explains the complete impossibility of fulfilling this instruction due to direct prohibitions by foreign specialists.
“The doctors told me, we forbid you to travel”.
Parents of children with disabilities face identical systemic obstacles when communicating with pediatricians. The mother of a child with autism, Irina, describes the impossibility of undergoing Ukrainian inpatient observation for patients who are currently in Switzerland.
“We cannot be in Ukraine for half a year and run around with her to institutions… How can I pass these examinations if I already have the necessary package of documents?”.
The mother of a grown-up boy with a deep form of cerebral palsy, Victoria, claims that Ukrainian doctors categorically refuse to formalize a medical declaration remotely, demanding the creation of an electronic signature from a person who is physically unable to move or consciously use gadgets. The government has adopted a special resolution No. 225 on the automatic extension of the disability status for children for the entire period of martial law, but social problems are immediately exacerbated when the child reaches the age of eighteen.
Legal Mechanisms for Protecting Patient Interests
Representatives of the state authorities propose to act as officially as possible in all cases of official resistance and overt disregard for new regulatory acts. Dmytro Lufer advises demanding that doctors provide clear legislative justification for any verbal refusals of remote service.
“Ask the doctor to report on the basis of which point this is happening, then it will be easier to do something about it”.
A representative of the Ombudsman’s Office, Vyacheslav Zakabluk, calls on Ukrainians to carefully record each detected case of violation of rights and inaction of state institutions. Ukrainians are recommended to send detailed written appeals to the institution of the Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada for Human Rights to receive professional support for cases and prompt resolution of legal conflicts with the Pension Fund or relevant ministries. Contacts for appeals are on the main page of the Ombudsman’s website
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