INFORMAL PAYMENTS AND GIFTS TO NURSES AMID THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC IN HUNGARY

M. Julesz, ?. M. Kereszty

Abstract: Background. From 2021, accepting and offering informal payments in Hungarian healthcare has been outlawed and punishable pursuant to the Hungarian Criminal Code. Only gifts of small value may be legally accepted after
care.
Purpose. This article displays the attitude of Hungarian nurses involved in COVID-19 healthcare toward accepting or
refusing informal patient payments and gifts.
Methods. Our survey conducted in 2021 among 202 Hungarian nurses working in COVID-19 patient care is
representative, given the number of nurses working in Hungary in this special area of healthcare. We used descriptive statistics to analyze our results. We counted the mean, standard deviation, and variance of the sums noted by the respondents.
Results. Latent informal payments amounted to the highest sum in the COVID-19 intensive therapy unit. Most nurses in the COVID-19 emergency care unit refused informal payments in the first four months of 2021 either because they understood that it constituted a crime or was unethical.
Conclusions. Our results suggest that Hungarian nurses by and large follow the new regulations and thus respect COVID-19 patients’ right to human dignity.
Keywords: informal payment, gift, Hungary, nurse, COVID-19 pandemic.