Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva has recommended scrapping the needless paperwork that forces parents to prove their children's vaccinations themselves when the electronic health record has no data on them, her office said.
She sent the recommendation to health minister Katya Ivkova and to Assoc. Prof. Dr Vladimir Daskalov, head of the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). Delcheva called on them to look into the problem closely and to consider having the NHIF enter the missing data in the National Health Information System (NHIS) on its own, or at parents' request.
The recommendation follows complaints from citizens. One mother told the ombudsman that her daughter's record on the "eZdrave" portal shows only the last vaccine given, and the rest are missing. The problem came up before the girl's enrolment at a kindergarten in Sofia, which refused a paper document and asked for all vaccination data to be in the NHIS.
The ombudsman got the current procedure from the Ministry of Health. When a record has no data, the parent or legal guardian files an application-declaration with the regional health inspectorate where they live. They attach an official medical document proving the vaccination. If the inspectorate's check finds the papers match, the data can be added to the health information system.
Delcheva says the procedure creates an unjustified burden. She says it will make life hard for many parents and cause uncertainty and worry. The vaccination data is already in the NHIF system, because the medical providers that contract with the fund report it to the fund. The ombudsman asks why parents must take an extra step to get it into the NHIS too.
Delcheva warned that if parents do not know about the procedure or are late, children's rights could suffer, including the right to pre-school education and a place in kindergarten and nursery. She says neither the children nor their parents are to blame.
In March, the health ministry's official website added a new tool. It lets people quickly and easily check which free preventive check-ups, tests and vaccinations they are entitled to.