A Romanian in five uses private health services, study shows

Around 20 percent of the Romanian urban residents use the private medical services and over 70 percent of them prefer to go to private clinics for better quality services, shows the study made by IMAS, requested by MedLife. According to the study, 61 percent of those surveyed had medical tests once or several times a year, while 19 percent of the Romanian turn to laboratory tests every 2-3 years and 10 percent less often than once every five years. Concerning the hospital services, the MedLife-IMAS study shows that approximately one third of the respondents had been hospitalized at least once in a hospital in the last 2-3 years, noticing a slight addressability increase for hospitals in the private sector. Compared with 2010, the number of people going to the doctor only once a year has remained relatively constant from 20 percent last year, to 22.6 percent this year. However, the number of those who said they don't go to the doctor dropped significantly from 13 percent in 2010 to 3 percent in 2011. The survey was conducted between April 8 and 19 this year at national level, on a sample of over 1,000 people, revealing Romanians' preferences considering the access of private medical services. MedLife is present on the market in Romania since 1996 and operates in nine hyperclinics in Bucharest, Timisoara, Brasov and Arad. Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com