2020 Cyprus Country Report

Having managed to
bring to Cyprus’
citizens a health system
that gives universal and
equal health coverage,
we are now moving on
to a holistic approach
of healthcare via other
major reforms. In the
fight against cancer,
Cyprus fully aligns
with the EU strategy.
The five pillars of the
National Cancer Strategy
allow us to provide a
comprehensive treatment
protocol, thus putting
cancer patients in the
centre of our attention.
We aspire to achieve
this, inter alia, through
the establishment of
the National Cancer
Institute. Moreover,
apart from normalising
the new health system,
we take actions to
encourage investments
in healthcare sector, in
areas such as e-health,
medical tourism,
rehabilitation services,
medical schools and
pharmaceutical services.
Constantinos Ioannou
Minister of Health
and carrying out some of the highest test rates
in the world. Compared to many of its European
counterparts, Cyprus fared much better with
around 2% fatality rate, the lowest compared to
Greece, UK, Germany, Spain and Italy. Cyprus
had roughly a similar number of resources, compared
to Italy and Spain.
The island’s efforts were praised by the
European Centre for Disease Prevention and
Control while doctors from both the public and
private sector joined forces to fight the spread
of virus. Patients from Cyprus also took part in
a global trial of Japanese antiviral influenza drug
Avigan (favipiravir) while the governments of
Cyprus and Israel worked together sharing expertise
and training methods. Renowned Cyprusbased
pharmaceutical manufacturer Remedica,
imported five tons of chloroquine from India to
be processed and subsequently sent to Israel in
return for 50 ventilators.
A vaccine is expected to be available by
January 2021, which will be made available for
free by the government, according to the Health
Ministry. The government has specified it will
need 1.2 million vaccines. Cyprus has dealt significantly
better with the pandemic than other
countries, as a result of the early adoption of
measures and the lower density of its population.
THE NATIONAL HEALTH SYSTEM
The roll-out of the new NHS has been a painstaking
yet crucial task in bringing Cyprus on
par with its European peers in terms of public
healthcare. The first phase concerning outpatient
care provided by GPs, specialist doctors, pharmacies
and labs was introduced in June 2019, while
phase two concerning inpatient care was rolled
out a year after that in June 2020. Two bodies
have been set up in a bid to allow the NHS to
materialise. The Health Insurance Organisation
(HIO) – known locally as GESY, which is tasked
with reimbursing healthcare expenses including
pharmaceuticals and the State Health Services
Organisation (SHSO), which will be responsible
for the management, control, supervision and
development of public hospitals and primary
healthcare centres.
The NHS was expected to have a surplus of
€80 million in 2020 after a year of operations,
though the unexpected Covid-19 pandemic may
further increase the €969.6 million forecasted
expenses. One of the many advantages the comprehensive
NHS has brought about, is reduced
waiting lists which have plagued the sector for
years. The passing of the NHS bills in 2017 was
an enormous victory for the government of
President Nicos Anastasiades, who has likened
this major development in the health sector to the
adoption and introduction of the social insurance
system in the 1960s.
Health services in the public sector are provided
by five district hospitals and one paediatric/
gynaecological hospital, three small rural hospitals
and 38 health centres, along with 230 subcentres
with a touring medical team. Additionally,
the Ministry implements a sponsored patients’
abroad scheme under specific conditions and
terms. Substantial investment in the state sector
has meant that procedures such as kidney transplants
and open-heart surgery, which once necessitated
a journey overseas, are now routinely
carried out within Cyprus. The private system is
financed mostly by out-of-pocket payments and
to some degree by voluntary health insurance
(VHI). It largely consists of independent providers,
and facilities are often physician-owned or
private companies in which doctors are usually
shareholders.
ADOPTING TECH SOLUTIONS
Part of its ambitious plans to upgrade the health
sector, the Health Ministry is focused on digitising
medical provision and developing an integrated
e-health monitoring system. This involves
the introduction of digitised health records, the
expansion of medical services to remote areas
via telemedicine and robotics, and access to international
medical data banks. Also part of this
evolution is to take actions to encourage further
investments in areas such as e-health, medical
tourism, rehabilitation services, medical schools
and pharmaceutical services. A key organisation
supporting investors and encouraging FDI is
also the country’s investment promotion agency
Invest Cyprus, who acts as the first point of
contact for foreign investors looking to enter into
the Cypriot market.
Meanwhile, the advantages of blockchain
technology have become obvious to the health
sector with Mediterranean Hospital adopting
a Cyprus-made blockchain. The first phase has
already been implemented in the emergency department
with blockchain-enabled medical data
management. It allows patients to have a digital
healthcare passport and an encrypted NFC card
which allows patients to automatically identify
themselves at the registration desk, check
their queue using their mobile device and safely
manage their medical records. Using blockchain
allows hospitals to collect data on their efficiency
and as such, the global healthcare market spending
and investment on blockchain-based technologies
is expected to hit $5.61 billion by 2025
according to a report by BIS Research.
Only a few weeks after the Covid-19 pandemic
reached the island, top health and technology
Sector Profile
Country Report CYPRUS 2020 93