The Program of Medical Guarantees, which pays hospitals from the state budget for the medical services they provide and makes these services free for patients, continues to operate in wartime.
Doctor consultations, diagnostics, instrumental examinations, medical support, surgeries and other services are free for patients at healthcare facilities that have a contract with the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU).
Computed tomography (CT) is also paid for by the state.
You can have a CT scan free of charge at healthcare facilities that have signed a contract with the NHSU for outpatient care and have the appropriate equipment and capacity to perform the scan.
An operator of the NHSU contact center at 16-77 can help you find the address and contacts of the nearest hospital where you can have a free CT scan (for security reasons, this information is currently not available on the official NHSU website).
Please note that the scan is free for the patient if they have indications for CT and a referral from a doctor.
For a referral, contact your family doctor or attending physician.
If, after examining the patient and taking the clinical findings into account, the doctor sees a need for CT, they will issue the necessary referral. To ensure patients' access to medical services, during the war both electronic and paper referrals are accepted.
“If, based on the results of a CT scan, the doctor sees the need to perform computed tomography of another area of the patient's body, this scan is also free for the patient,” stresses Minister of Health Viktor Liashko, who recently visited a hospital in one of the regions and found that doctors had registered CT scans of additional areas as a paid service of the facility.
We would like to remind you that Ukrainians who have been forced to change their place of residence due to Russia's military aggression (that is, internally displaced persons) can now receive primary health care and see a family doctor, general practitioner or pediatrician:
- at their actual place of stay,
- without a declaration with a family doctor,
- at any hospital, if it can provide the necessary treatment.
If a facility demands payment for a CT scan, this is a violation of patients' rights.
In this case, you can file a complaint with the chief physician (medical director), with the health department of your city or region, or with the owner of the healthcare facility — the relevant local government body (the hospital's name usually indicates who owns it).
If the problem cannot be resolved locally, file a complaint with the NHSU via the contact center (16-77) or by e-mail at info@nszu.gov.ua, or by mail to: 19 Stepana Bandery Ave, Kyiv, 04073. You can find out more about how to file a complaint by following this link.
Please note: if a patient is being treated in an inpatient unit, all necessary examinations are included in the relevant service package and are performed in the same hospital where the patient was admitted. One example is inpatient care for patients with COVID-19.