Institutional and legal prerequisites for the provision of cross-border medical services by primary health care institutions of Ukraine and Slovakia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/2077-6594/2026.1/19Keywords:
institutional prerequisites, legal framework, cross-border medical services, public health, primary health care, Ukraine, Slovakia, Court of Justice of the EUAbstract
Purpose. The purpose of the article is a comprehensive analysis of the institutional and legal prerequisites for the provision of cross-border medical services by primary health care institutions of Ukraine and the Slovak Republic in the context of Ukraine’s movement towards EU membership, which will make it possible to identify problems of national legal regulation and substantiate proposals for their resolution. Materials and methods. The research is based on the use of general scientific and special legal methods of cognition, in particular systemic, formal-legal, comparative-legal and functional analysis. The source base is the founding treaties and legal acts of the EU, the national legislation of Ukraine and Slovakia, and considerable attention is paid to the analysis of the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU. Results. The implementation of Directive 2011/24/EU into the national legislation of Slovakia has provided legal mechanisms for the exercise of patients’ rights to receive healthcare in other EU Member States, including at the outpatient and primary care levels. The practice of cross-border healthcare in Slovakia is most developed in border regions, where access to healthcare is often geographically more convenient in a neighboring state. The application of the provisions of Directive 2011/24/EU in conjunction with the provisions of Regulation (EC) No. 883/2004 on the coordination of social security systems allows patients to receive primary healthcare outside the country of insurance without violating the principles of financial stability of the national healthcare system. The current legislation of Ukraine does not contain a special legal regime for cross-border healthcare services, and the participation of primary healthcare institutions in such forms of cooperation is possible mainly within the framework of international projects and technical assistance programs. At the same time, the provisions of the Ukraine-EU Association Agreement create legal prerequisites for the gradual adaptation of Ukrainian legislation to the EU acquis in the field of healthcare, in particular in terms of ensuring patient mobility and digital integration. Conclusions. The institutional and legal prerequisites for the provision of cross-border medical services by primary health care institutions of Ukraine and the Slovak Republic are formed under the influence of both national health care systems and the European legal space, within which the Court of Justice of the European Union plays a key role in interpreting the content of the right to health care in the context of the freedom of movement of persons and services. Institutional interaction between primary health care institutions of Ukraine and Slovakia is currently limited and is mainly based on general mechanisms of cross-border cooperation, without providing a comprehensive regulation of issues of financing, exchange of medical information and liability of service providers. Taking into account the practice of the Court of Justice of the EU, it is advisable to form special interregional or bilateral legal mechanisms that would comply with the principles of legal certainty, transparency and effective judicial protection of patients’ rights.
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