Premiere: Specialists of the Ministry of Health, supported by NAC will assess risks of corruption in health sector

A group of specialists from the Ministry of Health, assisted by the National Anti- corruption Centre, will assess risks of corruption in health sector. The process aims to identify the factors that determine informal payments in health care institutions and the solutions in order to combat the phenomenon. It will begin in February 2014.

Assessors will be led by Deputy Minister of Health, and among members of the group will be heads of department or sections and heads of medical institutions, where appropriate. However, an officer of NAC and the coordinator of medical institutions of the Ministry of Health will also be part of the group.

Thus, the evaluation process specialists will use techniques such as analysis of legal acts and regulations regarding the activity of the evaluated institution, studying complaints from patients, questioning in the streets, transparency of the monitored entity, and press articles. These tools will enable the institutional factors that favor or facilitate corruption, and developing recommendations for exclusion of such effects.

Ministry of Health is the first to benefit from the support of NAC in the process of risk assessment, given the fact that the institution has already created a Council for prevention of corruption and reduce of informal payments in the health system. Thus, the Council requested the support of CNA in fighting corruption.

24 public institutions of the country have already assessed risks of corruption, being consulted by NAC, so far. Starting with two months ago, due to the fact that Government changed the Methodology for assessing the risk of corruption in public institutions, NAC can get involved directly into the process of evaluation.