Treating oncological diseases is a battle that not only exhausts the body, but also the household budget. Although the list of medicines in Montenegro, according to experts, is enviably good compared to the economic power of the country, appeals for financial assistance to patients are a daily occurrence on social networks.
"We cannot boast of the most modern and expensive medicines like the richest countries in Europe. It takes a while for these medicines to be included on the list for the state to allocate funds, but today I can say that the positive list of medicines is satisfactory," said Nevenka Lukovac Janjić, an internist and oncologist at the Clinical Center.
However, doctors warn of dangerous misinformation. There are public appeals for help from patients who are allegedly collecting money for treatment abroad. However, the truth, as claimed by TV Podgorica, is completely different.
"She has never been to Turkey, I will not go into whether a patient sometimes needs additional financial assistance in a situation where oncological treatment requires perhaps better nutrition, better accommodation, I will not go into those segments of a patient's life, but specifically the case where money is collected for treatment abroad is untrue. She received the most modern radiotherapy, then chemotherapy and according to the most modern world guides, she is now receiving biological immunotherapy," emphasizes Lukovac Janjić.
He adds that when we raise money and talk about aid, we have to call it by its right name.
"But when we collect money and talk about help, people definitely need help, then we have to call it by its real name, then the money is not collected for treatment and travel, but rather for additional expenses if they exist," says Lukovac Janjić.
Dr. Lukovac Janjić points out that the state covers costs where the domestic system fails. Problems arise when patients, due to distrust or personal decision, bypass protocols.
"The Health Fund refers patients who cannot have a procedure performed in Montenegro or cannot be given a medication for some reason, such as young patients, pediatric patients, who are sent for chemotherapy outside Montenegro, and the Health Fund actually covers the costs of travel, stay, and medications that will be administered there," she says.
It is precisely because of situations like these that the "Be Human" Foundation has introduced strict filters in collecting aid.
"Every parent or every child or beneficiary of the Foundation must contact the Foundation and submit documentation. Through this documentation, we have a three-member medical commission that examines whether the documentation is valid and whether the proposed treatment system makes sense or not. If it makes sense, then we contact the Health Fund, and then, if necessary, we contact the Clinical Center to verify the authenticity of this information. And if everything is clear, then we start collecting funds. Before we pay those pro forma invoices, we examine the authenticity of the hospitals for which those funds were requested, and only when we have verified all of this do we enter into the complete payment system," said Goran Jovanović, from the "Budi Humane" Foundation.
However, the system is often circumvented. Private giro accounts on social networks remain a gray area in which citizens cannot know where their money actually ends up.
"There is a certain group of people who raise funds publicly, some did not contact the Foundation, some did. Only after being informed that we do not pay out funds in cash, that it is impossible, do they start raising funds independently," says Jovanović.
For this reason, TV Podgorica's interlocutors urge citizens not to feel bad if they do not help someone if they are not sure that the help is going to the right address. Humanity should not be questioned, but transparency must be mandatory. Because every false or half-hearted appeal wastes resources on those who really need help and who may not get it in time through official channels.
