A bill amending the law on Gesy was approved on Wednesday by the cabinet and is to be sent by the health ministry to parliament as ‘urgent’ for immediate voting.

The amendment followed an administrative court ruling on March 13, which overturned a previous decision by the health insurance organisation, allowing a patient to obtain medication under the national health scheme (Gesy) with a prescription from a non-Gesy doctor.

The court’s decision is expected to have significant implications for patients and private doctors across Cyprus.

The case centred on whether patients enrolled in Gesy must obtain prescriptions exclusively from doctors registered with the system to have their medication covered.

The House health committee intended to regulate the issue with its own proposal, however the government requested that a bill be sent to secure it during legislative inspection.