Official data obtained by the Foundation for the Defense of Citizens Against State Abuse (FACIAS) from the Ministry of Health, based on reports from public health departments, show that the current procedure for resolving malpractice cases in Romania covers up abuses.
Between 2023 and 2024, authorities claim that 400 complaints were received nationwide, but in only 15 cases (approximately 5%) were allegations of malpractice confirmed, all of which were subsequently challenged in court.
FACIAS' analysis of data from 2023 shows that malpractice commissions had 219 pending cases, of which 151 were filed that year and 68 were from previous years. Of the total of 77 cases resolved, only 9 were confirmed as malpractice, all of which were challenged in court. These were reported in Bucharest (4 cases), Cluj (1), Timiș (1), and Prahova (3). FACIAS points out that no complaints were reported in ten counties: Bistrița-Năsăud, Botoșani, Buzău, Caraș-Severin, Giurgiu, Ialomița, Maramureș, Sălaj, Sibiu, and Vaslui.
For 2024, the data shows that there were 167 complaints, of which 114 were filed that year and 53 remained from previous years. Of the total of 63 cases resolved, only 6 were confirmed as malpractice, in the counties of Brașov, Constanța, Galați, Ilfov, Mehedinți, and Vâlcea. Four of these decisions, from Brașov, Constanța, Mehedinți, and Vâlcea, have already been challenged in court. Another 51 new complaints remain unresolved. According to FACIAS analysis, in 2024, eight counties reported no complaints: Alba, Botoșani, Dâmbovița, Harghita, Ialomița, Olt, Sălaj, and Vrancea.
At the same time, FACIAS points out that the Ministry of Health has confirmed that many malpractice complaints have been closed without the main issue being looked into. In 2023, 31 complaints were closed, and in 2024, another 6. Most of these cases were dismissed on procedural grounds: patients were unable to pay the fees of the appointed experts or did not accept the established rates.
FACIAS notes that these financial barriers make the current mechanism inaccessible to many patients and reduce the chances of malpractice cases being properly investigated, resulting in unresolved abuses against patients.
FACIAS asks the Ministry of Health to urgently initiate a reform of the mechanism for resolving malpractice complaints. The reform must ensure short and clear deadlines for resolution, the elimination of financial blockages in the expertise phase, and a transparent system for tracking cases contested in court.