How to spend 2000 UAH from "Diia. Card" on "Health Screening 40+". We tested it ourselves and share it with readers
In the last days of February, the government announced that the first 1,000+ Ukrainians had already passed the «Health Screening.» Among these thousand-plus people was a dev.ua journalist who decided to test the effects of the government program on himself.
We remind you that the program was announced in December last year, and we have already published instructions on how to receive funds. Now we decided to test how it works ourselves.
In the last days of February, the government announced that the first 1,000+ Ukrainians had already passed the «Health Screening.» Among these thousand-plus people was a dev.ua journalist who decided to test the effects of the government program on himself.
We remind you that the program was announced in December last year, and we have already published instructions on how to receive funds. Now we decided to test how it works ourselves.
Not to be confused with a whole body checkup
Let us briefly recall that the «40+ Health Screening» is by no means a comprehensive examination of the entire body. The program proposed by the government focuses on only two types of diseases — the detection of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Therefore, if you have a request to check everything at once — this will not be possible within the framework of the program.
Healthcare institutions participating in the program can be both public and private — the main thing is that they are represented on the list of the Ministry of Health. It is worth noting that the number of institutions involved is constantly increasing — this could be seen on the interactive map even with a difference of 7-10 days (you can scroll it on the program website).
Screenshot from the interactive map of the Ministry of Health
You can choose an institution available to you on a separate website of the Ministry of Health dedicated to the program — from a list in a particular locality or on the already mentioned interactive map. From this same website, the system will redirect you to the websites of specific clinics, where you can sign up for an examination. Spoiler from my own experience — it is better to call the institution back and confirm that it is involved in the program and your appointment is registered. Because, as practice shows, in the early stages of the program there may be «overlays».
Money in the morning, screening in the evening
The hackneyed phrase from «12 Chairs», despite the fact that modern youth is probably as far from the Soviet classics as possible (and that’s great!), still remains relevant. So the first stage of the experiment, of course, is to receive 2,000 UAH from the state. To do this, the author needed to open a «Diya.Card», which he did not have. Instructions for this are posted on the project website, and for everyone who systematically deals with «Diya» and online banking, its implementation will not be a problem. The author opened a «Diya.Card» at Monobank, but other partner banks of the program are mentioned in the screenshot.
The author submitted an application for funds on February 19, and the funds themselves arrived at «Diya.Kartka» quite quickly — on February 23.
It is worth noting here that the invitation to participate in the program and receive funds from the state comes to citizens who are 40 years old or older in «Diya» on the 30th day after their birthday in 2026. In the author’s case, it looked like this:
So the author, having a birthday in January, was able to test how the program works quite quickly, while others will have to wait for that. Also, citizens who did not install «Diya» were offered an additional option to receive a «Diya.Card» at the Central Bank.
The first pancake is traditionally a glevky pancake.
The first attempt of the dev.ua journalist to get to the 40+ screening failed — he was refused admission at one of the private clinics in Irpin, even though the institution was on the list of the Ministry of Health for the locality in which the author lives. The author «signed up» for the screening at this clinic through a special website of the Ministry of Health, but in fact no appointment took place.
There was a premonition that something might go wrong, because the email I received after registering on the Ministry of Health website warned that the clinic had to confirm the registration. But there was no confirmation. At the same time, the registration for the screening was made without redirecting to the clinic’s website (by the way, now, literally a week after the first unsuccessful experiment, the Ministry of Health website is already redirecting directly to the clinic’s website).
So, when the author went to the clinic and announced that he had signed up for screening, the administrator, not without reason, doubted this and began to check the records, where she found nothing. Despite the lack of an appointment, the administrator went to find out if they could accept me, but in the end, after consulting with colleagues, she replied that they only sign up for screening those patients who have signed declarations with their doctors. They also advised me to contact my family doctor to have him refer me to a medical institution where they could still conduct a screening. However, as recent events have shown, it is not worth taking the administrator’s words at face value — especially since she herself honestly said that they still do not fully understand how the program works.
«Grandpa» from the psychological questionnaire sends greetings
To avoid a similar situation again, the author decided to play it safe and call another private clinic before signing up for a screening. They confirmed that they were participating in the program, but not in all departments of the clinic. For example, there was no option to choose a department in Irpen, so the author chose a department in neighboring Bucha.
The screening consisted of several stages — first of all, the clinic sent a questionnaire containing questions about physical parameters, lifestyle (with special attention to the amount and frequency of alcohol consumption), and the presence of depressive states. The questionnaire caused quite contradictory impressions. If this is the official program questionnaire, «let down from above» — then it’s a «shithole». And if it was hastily made by the clinic itself within the framework of general recommendations — then you can still forgive it. For example, the «grandfather» made fun of me (have they really forgotten that there is a word for grandfather in Ukrainian?).
But what was more upsetting (and even annoying!) was that some of the questions themselves were posed in such a way that you were forced to choose the answer that was most appropriate, but not the one that corresponded to reality.
It is not entirely clear what is meant by the phrase «several days», which constantly appears in the questionnaire, and when exactly did such days occur? 10 years ago, a year ago, or just in the last few days? The author perceived this phrase as an analogue of the word «sometimes», which would be appropriate to use in this case.
One way or another, the questionnaire was filled out, and the author was immediately informed over the phone that he would have to come to the clinic at least twice as part of the screening — first for a blood test, and the second time for an appointment with a therapist.
Payment by details did not work. NFC only
I was asked to pay for the procedure in full during the first visit — after taking a blood test.
It is worth noting that since the money is credited to a virtual card, payment for the service is available via NFC and Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. Despite working in IT media and, it would seem, the need to comply with modern digital trends, the author had not used payment via smartphone before, so he had to specifically betray his «Old Believer» habits for this payment.
Photo from visa.se
Before giving up, the author still desperately tried to pay for the service from «Diya.Kartki» simply using the details of the medical institution, but technically he failed. In the Monobank application, after entering all the details and selecting the desired card, when paying, 0 was stubbornly displayed on it, although 2000 UAH had been accrued and displayed on another screen of the application. The bank’s support service tried to explain that it was necessary to select the «pay from state payments» option on the card, although the author never understood how to do this (and whether such an opportunity existed in principle is questionable).
Later, Mono support service replied that it would not be possible to make a payment using IBAN.
Well, there was nothing left to do but to use NFC on a phone for the first time in my life. However, there are reasonable suspicions that the author is not the greatest «digital Neanderthal» after all, and many citizens, especially older ones, may also have their own difficulties with this.
The search for sores and their causes is a never-ending story
Before testing this program on myself, the author was already clearly aware that he had problems with high blood pressure, so at least it would be useful for his health. But it is also worth understanding that if there is a problem, it is unlikely to be solved by one test and one consultation with a general practitioner.
The author’s visit to the therapist showed that the quality of the screening will largely depend on the specific institution and the doctor involved in this program.
After a considerable number of questions regarding previous treatment experience, relatives with hypertension and diabetes, lifestyle and stress, and the presence of depressive states, the therapist measured the blood pressure and visually confirmed the presence of a problem. She also did not rely on the questionnaire data and measured the author’s weight, waist circumference, and other physical parameters.
After delving into the results of the tests, which, by the way, were not very encouraging and caused concern, the doctor sent the author for additional examinations (blood tests for liver tests and Doppler of the neck vessels), and also made an appointment for another follow-up appointment. When I asked whether this follow-up appointment would be paid for from state funds for the 40+ screening, she confirmed that the next appointment would also be free. She also provided a referral for additional free tests for liver tests. True, the author had already had to pay 850 UAH of his own money for the Doppler of the neck vessels, but the doctor from the private clinic here also did not impose additional services of her institution, simply explaining where it could be done.
In fact, the author’s health screening is not over with the writing of this article — at least one additional consultation is ahead. And if you want to treat hypertension, then this is not just one consultation, but a long and thorny path, sometimes without obvious consequences.
So here, of course, everything will depend on the ultimate goal of the recipient of public funds — to really get to the bottom of health problems or simply use the accrued money «just to make ends meet.» Achieving the first, strategic goal will clearly not cost 2,000 UAH and will take much more time than the program provides for. The latter can only be the first step towards such a goal. And whether it will be successful depends on many factors.
«Data-driven solutions work not only in IT, but also in health.» How IT companies care about the health of specialists: annual checkups, massages, telemedicine and a day off in the first days of menstruation
