BULGARIA |
1. COUNTRY/REGION:. Bulgaria
Name and function: Dr. Svetlozara Ilieva, MD, PhD, Executive Director
Address: 3, St. Georgi Sofiiski, Str., 1606, Sofia
Email: silieva@eama.bg
Telephone number: +359 2 80 50 445 Mobile phone: +359 882 101 450 |
Name and function: Mina Popova, Director of Directorate
Address: 3, St. Georgi Sofiiski, Str., 1606, Sofia
Email: mpopova@eama.bg
Telephone number: +359 2 80 50 449 Mobile phone: +359 882 101 470 |
Name and function: Adelina Yankova, Senior legal adviser
Address: 3, St. Georgi Sofiiski, Str., 1606, Sofia
Email: ayankova@eama.bg
Telephone number: +359 2 80 50 464 Mobile phone ............................ |
Name and function: Elitsa Panayotova, Chief specialist
Address: 3, St. Georgi Sofiiski, Str., 1606, Sofia
Email: epanayotova@eama.bg
Telephone number: +359 2 80 50 437 Mobile phone
Is this website in English or partly in English? No |
2. THE STRUCTURE OF THE SUPERVISORY ORGANISATION(s)
The Head of the Supervisory Organisation (name and function).
Dr. Svetlozara Ilieva, MD, PhD, Executive Director
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Size of the Supervisory Organisation:
The number of inspectors is 30. During 2011, they have executed 716 check-ups in total. The EAMA is a governmental institution that supervises all types of healthcare establishments within the country and also the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) with its 28 regional offices and the voluntary health insurance funds that are currently 21 in total. |
Number of inspections/supervisions or number of inspectors or number of full time equivalents of people working in the organisation; number of hospitals or health institutions under supervision |
Number of people working in the organisations.
50 |
Other relevant information about the Supervisory Organisation in your country or region
The EAMA is the newest institution in the field of supervision and inspection of health care that was established in the beginning of 2010. Its mission is to work for continuous improvement of health care quality and safety. EAMA performs constant control and monitoring of health care providers’ activities and also of the activities of compulsory and voluntary health insurance funds and motivates them to continuous improvement of the quality and of their professionalism. The aim of EAMA is not punishment but to guarantee access to health care of good quality and safety, protection of patients’ rights and dissemination of good practices.
Some of EAMA’s strategic goals are:
1. To develop a system for total quality management at a national level;
2. To initiate the legislation for quality management;
3. To avoid the dissemination of corrupt health care practices;
4. To develop data base in the field of health care quality;
5. To develop medical errors’ reporting system, etc. |
Web address
http://www.mh.government.bg/ |
3. THE SCOPE OF THE SUPERVISORY ORGANISATION(s)
Is there supervision on health care in general? Yes, and it is done by different institutions
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Is there supervision on hospitals? Yes, and it is done by the structures of the NHIF and by the EAMA
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Is there supervision on other health care institutions like nursing homes/
Convalescent homes? Yes, and it is done by the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and also by the EAMA |
Is there supervision on the production and the use of medicines?
Yes, and it is done by the Executive Drug Agency
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Is there a supervisory relation with health care professionals? Yes
If yes, what kind of relation? The EAMA is working in close co-operation with the Union of Bulgarian Physicians and the Union of Bulgarian Dentists
Other relevant information about the scope of the supervisory organisation.
In the process for meeting its goals, the EAMA works and has created formal co-operation with the following institutions (in addition to the ones already mentioned):
- the Financial Supervision Commission;
- the Prosecutor’s Office of Bulgaria;
- the Ministry of Justice;
- the National Ombudsman;
- the National Revenue Agency;
- the National Social Security Institute;
- the NHIF;
- the Regional Health Authorities – 28;
- the Executive Transplantation Agency;
- the National Patient’s Organization;
- the Scientific Societies of Medical Professionals.
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4. METHODS OF INSPECTATION OR SUPERVISION
What methods of inspection or supervision are used in your country/region?
i. Check-ups in the health care establishments and in the structures of the compulsory and voluntary health insurance
ii. Analysis of medical documentation
iii. Standpoints of external experts and consultants |
Other information about the methods of inspection in your country /region:
The EAMA investigates complaints and signals of physical and juridical persons, initiates proceedings upon its own decision, executes general and thematic check-ups (i.e. the compliance of the structure, management, operation and organization of medical care in health care establishments with the requirements of the Health Act, the Law on Health Care Establishments and the regulations on their implementation, for the rights of patients in hospitals, compliance with medical standards and ensuring quality of medical care in hospitals, for the way hospitals expend funds granted by the state budget in accordance with Art. 82 of the Health Act). If necessary, the composition of inspection committees may also include the participation of national consultants, experts and medical professionals who do not work at the agency. |
5. WHAT IS THE COMPETENCE OF THE SUPERVISORY ORGANISATION IN YOUR COUNTRY?
o Is the supervisory organisation entitled to use compulsory measures
(sanction/repression/enforcement)?
Yes, as a result of its control activities, the inspectors of the EAMA may prepare Acts of establishment of violation and also Penal decrees according to the Law on Healthcare Establishments, the Law on Health, and the Law on Health Insurance.
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Is the supervisory organisation entitled to take precautions and implement measures to prevent accidents or incidents?
Yes, the EAMA’s experts complete the check-ups with recommendations how to remove the deficiencies and to improve the organization and the management. After inspections and deficiencies with recommendations made by the employees of the EAMA, in some hospitals immediate measures to improve the organization and management of the treatment process have been taken (such as development and implementation of internal rules of behavior, update of the information and document system, better communication between the departments), structure and staff optimization, training staff, equipment upgrade and others. |
o Does the supervisory organisation have the authority to close institutions
or stop non proper healthcare?
According to the Law on Health, the EAMA may prepare a proposal to the Regional Health Authorities to delete from their registers any health care establishment for out-patient care that breaks the patients’ rights and does not meet the requirements of the medical standards. In addition, the EAMA may prepare a proposal to the Minister of Health to withdraw the permission for activities of any hospital that breaks the patients’ rights and does not meet the requirements of the medical standards.
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o Is the supervisory organisation allowed to interfere in other ways? If yes, in what way? |
o Other relevant information about the competence of the supervisory organisation Every month EAMA submits report to the Ministry of Justice that consists of information and analysis about the existence of corrupt health care practices and proposals about the decrease of the corrupt processes. All measures proposed by the EAMA are taken into account in the development of the Annual Report for the EU Commission and also in the Graph for the measures and activities of the government for the progress in the field of the judiciary reform, crime control and corruption.
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6. INTERESTING ONGOING DEVELOPMENTS IN YOUR COUNTRY/REGION |
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