Intravenous anesthesia will be available for subsequent patients diagnosed with AOS

The Ministry of Health has prepared a draft regulation, according to which the scope of services provided in the outpatient specialist care would be extended to include the possibility of intravenous anesthesia in both indicated tests.

Patients undergoing an outpatient prostate biopsy through the perineal puncture could only benefit from local anesthesia.

"It should be emphasized that patients undergoing percutaneous prostate biopsy as part of outpatient specialist care, despite the use of local anesthesia, often experience pain and discomfort," reads the Project Impact Assessment.

Magnetic resonance imaging or CT scan is painless. During the examination, however, the patient should lie still, which is a problem for some people. As a result, there is a high risk of inaccurate results of the research carried out.

“Children and adults with anxiety disorders, organic mental disorders, mental retardation, very often do not cooperate with medical staff, which makes it difficult or impossible to perform an imaging test. Some patients during the examination are not able to maintain a still position for a long time. Tremors or lack of control over breathing favor the formation of the so-called motion artifacts. As a consequence, this may make it difficult for the attending physician to make a correct diagnosis, moreover, cause the necessity to repeat the examination due to illegible results and delay the commencement of effective treatment ”, adds the Ministry of Health.

According to the Ministry of Health, the change will contribute to reducing unnecessary hospitalizations. In April 2021, a regulation was published introducing the possibility of using anesthesia during outpatient colonoscopy and gastroscopy. The draft regulation on prostate biopsy, CT and MR will enter into force 14 days after its announcement.