A total of 810,077 beneficiaries visited Personal Doctors during 2023, 627,173 visited Specialist Doctors, 700,373 received their medicines through the National Health System and 500,948 beneficiaries had laboratory tests, the Health Insurance Organization announced Thursday.

Moreover it said that 66,554 beneficiaries have undergone surgery through the System and 120,460 beneficiaries received inpatient care services.

The HIO in a press release said that in 2023 quality criteria in the way hospitals are paid were introduced. It also promoted healthy competition and upgraded the quality of services, strengthening at the same time the status of the beneficiaries in the NHS, by introducing the quality assessment of the hospitals through questionnaires.

It also noted that it continues its effort to upgrade the quality of the services provided through the process of adapting and implementing guidelines, in collaboration with all scientific bodies.

In 2023 two new hospitals and two new Accident and Emergency Departments were introduced in the system. Podiatrists joined NHS as well as one more provider of home palliative care services, the HIO added. It also said that there was an expansion of rehabilitation services for cardiothoracic surgeries and an upgrade of home general nursing and speech pathology services.

HIO assures that it will continue to cooperate with all competent bodies in order to safeguard the right of every beneficiary to have equal and unimpeded access to quality health services.