The minister participated in the inauguration of the Regional Center of Telemedicine in Targu Mures, central Romania.
Asked what is the most pessimistic scenario regarding the Romanian health sector, the minister said that in the current economic context Romania has too many hospitals and the system is in dire need of restructuring.
“The Romanian health system is confronted with a real problem. It has 431 hospitals and spends 85% of the [Health Ministry’s] budget. There is no other solution but to reorganize the sector (…) I believe we should have fewer but more efficient hospitals,” Bazac said.
The minister said that by reorganization he does not necessarily understand closing them down.
“Restructuring means turning hospitals into other types of medical centers, as there are in the European Union.(…) I think that these models must be adopted and implemented. Romania needs at most 150 hospitals,” Bazac said.