Social minister urges hospital ER to raise tick‑removal fee to €90
The North Estonia Medical Centre (PERH) set the fee for tick removal at €50, but Social Minister Karmen Joller says they could charge €90 — the same price as the procedure costs at a veterinary clinic.
A regulation that took effect on April 1 in hospital emergency departments allows staff to direct patients with simpler health issues to a family doctor or pharmacist. For example, PERH's ER now sends people back if they come in only to have a tick removed — or they must pay for the service, Postimees reports.
"Since April 1, tick removal is a paid service if the tick is located on a part of the body where the person can remove it themselves. The fee is €50, based on the hospital's price list for paid services," explained PERH Emergency Medicine Centre head Dr. Marit Märk.
Last summer, 200 people came to PERH requesting tick removal. Before a patient is sent to a triage nurse, they are informed at registration that the service is paid.
"I recommend that the regional hospital review its price list, because I know that removing a tick at a veterinary clinic costs €90," Joller said in her podcast. "Thinking of my dog Pontu — before we managed to apply tick medication, we removed them five at a time. The vet clinic could have made a good profit off Pontu, but we removed the ticks ourselves."
In local pharmacies, special tick removal hooks are available, costing a few euros, to remove ticks either independently or with help from someone close.
Source: Postimees
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Editor: Argo Ideon
