CCCI warns: “No hasty decisions” over landmark court ruling on GHS prescriptions

The Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) is closely monitoring the issue that has arisen following a landmark court ruling over prescriptions by doctors who are not under the General Health System (GHS).

"The issue is quite serious, and we believe that Parliament should not make hasty decisions in an attempt to overcome the problem that has arisen following the Court's ruling," CCCI said in an announcement.

It further noted that the current situation affects many patients who rely on prescriptions for their medication.

A landmark ruling by the administrative court in Nicosia this week has overturned a previous decision by the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO), allowing a patient to obtain medication under the GHS with a prescription from a non-GHS doctor.

Later in the day, during the session of the House plenary, an MP attempted to fast-track an amendment to the current law in a bid to address the ramifications of the administrative court’s ruling.

Disy MP Efthymios Diplaros wanted to table an amendment ensuring that only Gesy-affiliated doctors can prescribe medications under the national health system.

CCCI said it was calling on parliament to examine the matter carefully before making any final decisions.

To this end, CCCI concluded, it agrees with parliament’s decision to refrain from discussing the matter as a matter of urgency in next week’s Plenary, giving it another week to discuss and review.

Significant implications for patients and private

The Nicosia court’s decision is expected to have significant implications for patients and private doctors across Cyprus.

The case centred on whether patients enrolled in the GHS must obtain prescriptions exclusively from doctors registered with the system to have their medication covered.

HIO had rejected the patient’s request for reimbursement, arguing that only prescriptions from GHS-affiliated doctors were eligible. However, the court ruled that the law does not explicitly require prescriptions to be issued by a GHS doctor, as long as the medication itself is included in the system’s approved list and is dispensed by a participating pharmacy.

The court’s decision highlighted a crucial distinction in the law. While personal and specialist medical services within GHS are provided by registered doctors, the regulation does not specify that prescriptions must come exclusively from these practitioners. Instead, the law states that prescriptions must be issued by a “doctor” or “dentist” without requiring them to be affiliated with the GHS.