Waiting for an ambulance is a frequent occurrence. The visiting team sometimes has to wait a long time. But what if the ambulance staff came to the call but refused medical services due to the lack of an insurance document? Can an ambulance take without a policy? What rights does its holder have? Let's try to figure it out.
Health Insurance
In our country, the state guarantees the provision of free medical services to citizens who need them. But in reality it looks different. You can forget about the availability of free medicine. In fact, specialized assistance has long been paid. The only question is, who pays for it? We are not talking about private clinics that live off clients. The state has long established a number of free medical services available to citizens without emptying their own pockets. Specialized assistance went into the category of insurance. Free medical services are paid from the Compulsory Medical Insurance Fund, where every able-bodied citizen makes monthly deductions. The provision of free insurance is available to each holder of the compulsory medical insurance policy.
Rights to compulsory medical insurance
The MHI policy is an unlimited document that guarantees the receipt of free medical care in our country. The purchase of paper is not affected by the place of residence, registration, age and social status of the person. The insurance policy is available to all Russians and those who do not have Russian citizenship. In the second case, the paper gives the right to receive free assistance for a limited duration. The holder of the MHI policy is protected by the insurance company with which the contract is concluded. No one has the right to refuse him specialized medical care.
Service list
The list of free medical services provided under the compulsory medical insurance policy is single for all regions of our country. The differences that occur more often relate to organizational work with patients. Basic medical services include the following forms:
- Emergency (ambulance) - this is the help that is provided by a team of specialists coming to the call.
- Outpatient care is a treatment at home with a mandatory visit to a clinic doctor, which involves a series of diagnostic, treatment, prophylactic, and rehabilitation measures under the supervision of a specialist.
- Inpatient - this is the treatment that is provided to citizens during their round-the-clock stay in hospital facilities.
The MHI policy guarantees the right to hospitalization, the admission of specialist doctors, participation in innovative methods of treatment, surgical operations, obtaining medications, as well as assistance to pregnant women and newborns. The full list of free medical services must be checked with the insurance company where the compulsory medical insurance policy is issued.
Innovations in ambulance
In 2018, the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation made a number of changes to the procedure for providing emergency medical care. According to the new requirements, the visiting medical team will be obliged not only to deliver patients to the nearest hospital, but also to provide services in accordance with individual types, profiles, diseases or conditions of the patient. Ambulance staff will deliver the patient to the place where they will receive comprehensive qualified care. In case of burns - to the burn center, in case of poisoning - to the toxicological center and so on.
Two types of ambulance
Timely medical care of emergency doctors is what patients are waiting for. Life and human health directly depend on its quality. Few people know what is included in this concept. Doctors coming to the call provide two types of care: emergency and emergency.
Emergency
Is it possible to call an ambulance without a policy? In the presence of an acute threat to life, primary health care services provided by an on-site medical team are provided to everyone without exception. The emergency ambulance team must come to the call within 20 minutes after receiving the call to the duty post. The absence of an insurance policy in this case should not be an obstacle. An immediate and free right to provide emergency medical care is possible in the following cases:
1. Respiratory failure, circulatory system, loss of consciousness.
2. Mental disorders, which are accompanied by the actions of the patient, dangerous to himself and others.
3. In the presence of pain.
4. In cases of injury, poisoning, injury, as well as bleeding of any kind. With thermal and chemical burns.
5. During childbirth, the threat of abortion.
In such situations, even uninsured and unidentified in the compulsory medical insurance system, citizens are entitled to call an ambulance without a policy and to provide medical services at the expense of regional budget funds. Failure by medical personnel in such situations is unacceptable.
Urgent care
An emergency form of medical care is provided for by the law of the Russian Federation and is also provided by an on-site medical team. It does not apply to a time interval of 20 minutes. Arrival time varies within two hours. After receiving a call to the duty post, the nearest free general field team is sent to the call. There are several reasons for calling an emergency ambulance. The service is carried out in case of sudden onset of acute diseases, conditions, with exacerbation of chronic diseases that do not threaten life. These include a significant increase in temperature, a severe form of influenza or SARS, sudden severe pain. Runny nose, dizziness, cough are not a reason to call emergency medical care.
Is it possible to call an ambulance without a policy if there are serious reasons? Such actions are possible. But in practice, an ambulance without a policy often does not accept patients. Such a refusal is contrary to the constitutional right of every citizen to provide free medical services.
Ambulance call without a compulsory medical insurance policy: reality or myth?
Everyone is used to the fact that when providing medical services, employees are asked to present a medical insurance policy. But a person does not always know when a malaise, illness, or injury will happen to him. What to do in such cases when the help of doctors is required, but for some reason the document was not at hand? Is it possible to call an ambulance without a policy? The provision of qualified assistance is possible without an insurance document, but not all employees of the exit team take this step.
Ambulance in the absence of compulsory medical insurance
Having figured out the question of whether it is possible to call an ambulance without a policy, we will try to answer another one. What should a patient do in case of refusal to provide qualified care?
It does not matter for what reason the patient does not have a paper with him that entitles him to provide free medical services. A doctor who arrives at the call is required to conduct an examination. Diagnostic results lead to the following actions:
1. Hospitalization is possible if the patient in need of emergency care, the current condition worsens in the near future. Such a person is provided with a medical service on an emergency basis without presenting a compulsory medical insurance policy.
2. The doctor has the right to refuse hospitalization to the patient in the presence of a stable condition, the absence of the likelihood of deterioration and life threatening. The representative of the ambulance team must transmit information about the patient to the clinic at the place of residence.
Medical assistance to citizens who are not registered in the compulsory medical insurance system
The insured person, even in the absence of a compulsory medical insurance policy, has the right to provide medical services by the ambulance team. The data of the missing document is verified through the insurance company. But what about patients who are not identified and not registered in the CHI system? They have the right to call an ambulance without a policy only in case of a life threat. When providing emergency ambulance, field team employees often refuse the patient or require payment for the provision of services. How much does an ambulance call cost without a policy? The price in the regions may be different. So in Moscow, the final cost of medical services is affected by the distance of the destination from the Moscow Ring Road, the doctor’s specialization, the degree of urgency and complexity of medical care.
Actions in case of refusal to provide services
There are cases when, when calling an ambulance without a policy, a person is faced with a refusal by the dispatcher and a group of doctors. In case of untimely provision of medical services for any reason, including in the absence of a medical policy, the patient or his representative must immediately contact the police. Deviations from the professional activities of the visiting team will be regarded as part of the law. Ambulance employees and the dispatcher may fall under Article 124 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Refusal of assistance to the patient” and Art. 125 "Abandonment".
The measures taken and the threat of a criminal article discipline medical professionals. In those cases when the dispatcher accepted the call, and the medical team is in no hurry to come to the patient, it is recommended to call back to the ambulance and recall that the delay in the provision of qualified services is also regarded by the law as refusing to provide assistance to the patient and leaving him in danger. According to the law, everyone in need in the country applies for certified assistance, regardless of location and availability of relevant documents, including the compulsory medical insurance policy.