Contact EURACT

E-mail

Phone
(32) 16 33 74 64

FAX
(32) 16 33 74 80

CZECH REPUBLIC

There is continuing discussion about the future of primary care in the Czech Republic. Primary care is divided into two specialisations – a GP for children (paediatrician) and a GP for adults. There are two streams – one stream votes for institution of Family Practice as a third equal option, the other main stream wants to keep status quo. There was no solution found yet.

Basic Medical Education

No changes in the Czech BME. Primary care is taught in all seven Medical Faculties, although in different extends and different years of study.

Vocational Training

Lack of money in the system. Hard for new GPs to get training and keep their living at the same time.

CME/CPD

Well developed in trans-regionally. The main educational activity provides The Society of General Practice of the Czech Medical Association which organises up to two hundred regional seminars with total attendance of 3000 GPs per year ( out of 5000 GPs registered in the country). In years 2004 and 2005 the educational program was targeted to implementing of new clinical guidelines for GPs.

Current problems

• Insufficient or nearly no "gate keeping"- function of general practice. Patients are allowed to see any doctor they want and that is highly abused and resulting in growing extension of more and more expensive secondary care. Nor patient neither specialist is responsible for pumping out health care resources by unnecessary and redundant secondary care check ups. If anybody, the GP is responsible and punished by fines. The present health care system is very unjust to the primary care and obstructs its development.
• No deductibles are asked from patients in the health care system. Patients can pump as much as possible, and some do it even only to use the incontinence pampers as a cloth for window cleaning. Prescribing GP can be fined if the budged was exceeded.
• Prescription limitations in primary care. Health care provided by GPs is often limited by unnecessary limitations of prescription possibilities. GP often has to send patient to a specialist only for prescription of a commonly used drug ( e.g. statins in primary prevention, or terfenadin in treatment of onychomycosis). It all very much underestimates the position of primary care, compromises GPs and causes troubles to patients who sometime have to do extra travels and wait for appointments.

Achievements of Primary Care

• Institution of Clinical Guidelines Clearinghouse for General Practice in 2004. This institution was establish by initiative of Society of General Practice and is led by GPs. There were introduced 5 new clinical guidelines in the yea 2004 and 12 more are going to be introduced on the National conference of GPs in November 2005.
• Growing development of CME education organised by Society of General Practice.

What have I done as Euract representative

Cooperation with Society of General Practitioners in CME education. Liaison between different CME educational activities. Planning for a national meeting of primary care teachers from all seven Medical Schools in September 05.