Patient Transfers Abroad: 60 Applications in Seven Days

Over 60 patients have already been referred abroad for treatment under GESY since the Health Insurance Organisation officially took over overseas medical transfers, with most cases involving urgent or life-threatening conditions.

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ANDRIA GEORGIOU

 

Some 60 requests to send patients abroad through Cyprus’s national health scheme (GESY) have already been submitted to the Health Insurance Organisation (HIO). According to Monica Kyriakou, a senior official at the HIO, since 2 October 2025, the date on which the HIO officially assumed responsibility for overseas referrals for GESY beneficiaries, more than 45 requests have been lodged. A further 13 relate to patients whose applications had been made earlier to the Ministry of Health and were moved over to the HIO following the transition.

Ms Kyriakou explained that a significant proportion of these requests involve life‐threatening cases, in which transfers must occur within seven days; in one instance, the situation was so serious that the patient needed to be sent abroad within 24 hours.

One notable case involved a child who had to be transferred to France within 24 hours, with all procedures expedited to ensure prompt treatment. Other cases include women in pregnancy needing surgical intervention overseas for the unborn child—a necessity unmet in Cyprus. To date, the process under GESY is running smoothly, she said, citing the only challenge as physicians’ unfamiliarity with submitting requests to the HIO, which has caused small delays.

Who qualifies 

Kyriakou clarified that all registered GESY beneficiaries are eligible to request overseas treatment if the services they require fall within GESY’s remit but cannot be provided in Cyprus—due to lack of specialised expertise, equipment or facilities, or cannot be delivered within a medically justified timeframe. Some categories are explicitly excluded: experimental treatments, services already delivered at the time of request, telemedicine, or purely prescription issuance.

She noted that certain requests (for example, specialised laboratory tests, prosthetic components, ophthalmological implants) may still be handled by the Ministry’s Subsidised Patients Division, even when the patient is a GESY beneficiary. Non‑beneficiaries’ requests remain under the Ministry’s domain.

The HIO has introduced procedural changes compared to those used by the Ministry: requests can only be submitted via GESY‑contracted specialist physicians through the HIO’s Information System; a list of cooperating foreign hospitals will be used; a roster of experts will assess requests; and a 24/7 helpline will be available for life‑threatening cases.

Requests are categorised (routine, urgent, life‑threatening), with a structured fast‑track for the most critical cases. The expert roster allows evaluations without the need for convened meetings, and full, accurate documentation from the treating physician is key to rapid processing.

Selecting hospitals abroad 

The cooperative hospital list was compiled following rigorous criteria, including availability of specialised services, speed of response, and quality of care, drawing on past experience from the Ministry’s subsidised patients unit and data from the previous two to three years. The list includes public hospitals in European health systems and private hospitals within and beyond the EU. It remains dynamic, subject to ongoing review and updates.

Patient feedback is already captured for inpatient wards and emergency departments; this will soon extend to services delivered abroad and feedback from treating physicians. This mechanism allows the HIO to continuously monitor partner hospital performance. To ensure integrity, request submissions are fully traceable in the Information System, requests are assessed against fixed criteria, personal identifiers are anonymised for reviewers, and expert identities are protected. These safeguards are regularly reviewed and upgraded as needed.

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