On Wednesday, July 16, the Minister of Health, Alexandru Rogobete, together with the President of PALMED, Cristian Hotoboc, held a press conference highlighting the importance of honest collaboration between the public and private health systems for the benefit of patients.
On this occasion, PALMED expressed its support for the measures promoted by the Ministry of Health: adherence to working hours by medical staff, payment of resident doctors working in the private sector by the healthcare units where they are employed, and support for the framework for implementing private insurance in a complementary manner.
“Medicine has its particularities, and we cannot separate the waters so abruptly. But adhering to working hours in public hospitals is an obligation. Doctors have the freedom to work wherever they wish after hours: major chains, their own practice, but with respect for public working hours. Not all doctors leave the public hospital before the end of their shift. There are wonderful people who stay long after hours, who take on more shifts, residents who do 12 unpaid shifts a month to cover the schedule, people who come from home to meet needs.”
“We are 100% in agreement regarding adherence to working hours. Adherence to working hours by medical staff does not aim at a separation between state and private, but reaffirms a common-sense principle: in any system you work in, the patient must come first. Both in public and private hospitals, the commitment to the patient must be complete and unfragmented by practices that undermine access to care. Only through an honest partnership between the public and private sectors can we build a healthcare system where patients are treated with respect, equity, and professionalism. And such a partnership also involves adopting additional measures such as the payment of resident doctors working in the private sector by the healthcare units where they are employed and supporting the framework for implementing private insurance in a complementary manner.”
Such measures support the objectives outlined by PALMED in the position paper of the Association, presented and debated by representatives of the private health sector at the PALMED National Conference 2025, held from June 13–15 at Hotel Nyota, Mamaia.
Among the key principles assumed in the PALMED position paper are:
PALMED will continue to support an authentic reform of the Romanian healthcare system, where the interests of the patient take precedence, and collaboration between the public and private sectors is based on efficiency and responsibility.