Tunisia-From support to the sick to a nightmare that haunts them.. Lotfi Riahi discloses major problems faced by those involved in “CNAM” [Video]

Enormous complaints from Tunisian citizens regarding the deterioration in public services, particularly transportation and health care, as entry into the treatment system in Tunisia has become a nightmare that disturbs patients, especially those who suffer from chronic illnesses…

The National Illness Insurance Fund “CNAM” is a complete and integrated public system devoted to serving the patient, but what if this system turns into an issue for the latter for several reasons that cannot be explained at times?

Concerning this topic specifically, the head of the Consumer Guidance Organization Lotfi Riyahi told Tunisie Numérique, that the organization is in the process of obtaining many complaints, especially from the elderly, related to several points primarily related to the health sector and health insurance in Tunisia, calling for the need of reviewing the expense recovery system, as it is essential to expedite consideration of files related to reimbursement of expenses to allow the patient to recover his expenses in the shortest possible time, especially regarding patients who suffer from chronic diseases.

Riahi also underlined that many of the medications for some chronic diseases that the citizen needs are not provided by the state, which creates another problem for the patient and several problems at the forefront of this system, most notably the scarcity of medicines and their unavailability in the market, calling on the state to all medicines for those who suffer from chronic diseases directly without going through the expense recovery system.

In the same context, the speaker pointed out the need to impose the adoption of scientific prescription instead of a commercial prescription, which in turn caused several problems, mostly centred around generic medicines, as “CNAM” has protected itself legally, and is only accountable for returning the price, lowest among the total generic drugs that are employed to treat the same disease.

Riahi adds that the approval of the scientific prescription by physicians also ensures the patient’s right to pick the medicine and enables him to recover his expenses and overcome the problem of the scarcity of some medicines on the market.