Location devices to track people with memory loss will be reimbursed?

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The Patient Ombudsman, on his website, published an appeal and asked the Minister of Health and the Minister of Family and Social Policy to consider the possibility of equipping people with memory loss with electronic location devices. He also stressed that increasing their availability through reimbursement would bring many benefits.

Patient Ombudsman’s call for location devices for people with memory loss

In early June 2021, the Patient Ombudsman launched an appeal on his website and asked the Minister of Health and the Minister of Family and Social Policy to consider equipping people with memory loss with electronic locators. The locators could be given to seniors, people with memory loss, intellectual disabilities or other health disorders. The electronic locators could help determine the whereabouts of a person in case of disappearance. The Ombudsman also added that the widespread use of locating devices, thanks to reimbursement, would bring many benefits, such as increasing the comfort of life of the patient and their family, the chance for greater independence or saving lives by quickly locating such a person. He added that national consultants in psychiatry and geriatrics also supported the introduction of reimbursement for locating devices.

The spokesman also cited data from the National Police Headquarters, according to which in 2020 there were more than 2,000 missing persons over the age of 60, 341 of whom died.