Balkan Medical League to Be Established between Bulgaria, Greece, Serbia, Türkiye
A conference on medical error and the rules for good medical and clinical practice brought together representatives of the medical organizations of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Türkiye in Sandanski on Saturday. The forum was organized by the Sofia office of the Bulgarian Medical Association (BMA).
Among the participants were caretaker Bulgarian Health Minister Assen Medjidiev and Vice President Iliana Iotova.
Addressing the forum, Medjidiev said that a Balkan Medical League will be established in Sofia in March 2023 as a means to exchange medical personnel between the participating countries: Greece, Serbia, Türkiye, and Bulgaria.
According to the Health Minister, the BMA Professional Ethics Commission should be given rights that will allow the organization to control itself. “At present, the Commission reviews various cases but cannot regulate the mechanism, when us controlling ourselves would be good for patients as well,” he noted. In his words, there has been a considerable drop in trust in medical professionals in Bulgaria and that needs to change.
In her address, Vice President Iotova said that not a small part of medical errors or failures in medical treatment are the result of legislation: from education through hospitals’ legal status to medical professionals’ status. Bulgaria lacks a register of medical errors, and there should be one so that such cases can be analysed instead of carelessly placing the blame on medical professionals, she argued.
BTA
