SAO: Nearly 66% of examinations at the Thoracic Surgery Clinic were carried out as emergency cases or with referrals without appointments

According to the State Audit Office’s report on the Clinic’s financial performance and compliance for 2024, around 66% of all examinations at the Thoracic Surgery Clinic were conducted through emergency referrals or referrals without an appointment.

The report notes that there is an imbalance between the number of regular and emergency check-ups, a situation that has led to an excessive workload at the Clinic.

The auditors emphasize that such a structure of referrals represents a clear departure from the planned use of the “My Appointment” system and increases the Clinic’s workload, which may affect the efficiency of planning and organizing the work process, the optimal use of available capacities, and patients’ access to healthcare services.

The report also states that the consumption of medicines and medical materials was not recorded in an updated and timely manner in the accounting and material records, while some of them were procured before the contract expired in order to ensure the uninterrupted provision of healthcare activities.

The auditors also found that a hospital pharmacy had not been established within the Clinic, through which inventory management was supposed to be carried out.

The report also underlines improper implementation of the Law on Public Procurement in some of the completed public procurement procedures.

The audit found that some receivables are more than three years old, creating uncertainty about their future collection. It also identified discrepancies between the calculated co-payment and the amount collected for healthcare services provided to health insurance beneficiaries.

To address the identified shortcomings, the SAO submitted eight recommendations to the Clinic for Thoracic and Vascular Surgery.