Corruption Is Main Problem In Romanian Healthcare, Medic And Patient To Blame – Poll

The study, part of the project „Promoting integrity in the healthcare sector,” financed by the United States embassy in Bucharest, investigates the public’s perception of corruption in the healthcare system.

The study found 91% see corruption as a fundamental problem of the system, directly affecting patients and which should be solved immediately, while 10% said it is of no concern.

Most (65%) of those who answered are of the opinion that both patient and medic are to blame for giving and taking bribes. Of the total number of participants in the poll, 23% blame only the medic for accepting bribes, while 11% say it is the patient’s fault for offering a bribe to medical personnel. Of the latter group, more than half (68%) said they had offered bribes.

As regards the connection between the treatment a patient receives and the amount the patient pays for medical services, most respondents (81%) said the money paid to the medical employee greatly influences the quality of service.

The study says more than half of those who answered (69%) said they offered money to medical personnel: 63% said they offered money to the medic in exchange for medical services, and to the medical assistant (51%) and nurse (36%). Of those who offered money, 69% said they did so without such indication from the employee, while 31% said they offered money on the employee’s suggestion. More than half (56%) said the bribe offered by patients should be replaced with a payment or donation system.

Also, 37% said they know of instances where the medical employee provided the service on the condition that they receive a bribe from the patient or the patient’s family.

The annual amount spent on bribe offered to medical employees is lower than 50 lei (EUR1=RON4.2664) in the case of 46% of the respondents, between RON50 and RON200 for 26%, above RON200 for 19%, while 7% said they have never offered money to medical employees.

„Both those blaming the employee for accepting the bribe, and those who think the patient is at fault for offering, believe there should be ways to investigate medical employees, so that they can be punished or even expelled from the system when they tie the medical service to the amount of money provided,” says the study.

While 81% of the respondents believe the medical employee should be dismissed in such a case, 18% say offering money is a normal act which should be accepted by the patient.

The poll was conducted between April 8 and 19 and questioned 1,042 people aged over 18.