New healthcare quality authority in Hungary

Hungary is preparing to establish the Health Quality Control Authority (Egészségügyi Minőségellenőrzési Hatóság, EMH), a new body that will oversee quality standards across both public and private healthcare providers. The authority is expected to commence operations on 1 January 2027 and a ministerial commissioner has already been appointed to lead the preparatory process.

1. Legislative mandate

On 31 July 2026, the Minister of Health issued Instruction No. 5/2026. (VII. 31.) EÜM (the ‘EMH Instruction’), appointing a ministerial commissioner responsible for preparing the establishment and launch of the EMH. The commissioner’s mandate is to ensure that all legal, organisational, budgetary, staffing, data-protection, IT and operational requirements necessary for the authority’s launch are in place by the end of 2026.

2. Preparatory work

The ministerial commissioner is responsible for coordinating all preparatory activities required for the EMH to begin operations on 1 January 2027. These responsibilities include:

• conducting an impact assessment of the EMH’s proposed powers and competences;
• assessing budgetary, staffing, IT, implementation and data-protection requirements and risks;
• designing the authority’s organisational structure and operating framework;
• evaluating infrastructure, digital and service portal requirements;
• developing an initial digitalisation concept; and
• initiating the procurement procedures necessary for the authority’s launch.

A further key task is to prepare the legal, staffing, budgetary and data-protection arrangements required to transfer the healthcare patient-rights functions currently performed by the Integrated Legal Protection Service, together with the professional supervisory network, to the EMH.

The commissioner is also required to prepare the authority’s operational handover and launch package ahead of its establishment on 1 January 2027.

While the draft legislation establishing the EMH has not yet been published, further legislative developments are expected in the coming months.

At this stage, it is understood that the EMH will be responsible for monitoring the quality of services provided by both public and private healthcare providers. However, it remains unclear whether the authority will apply a single evaluation framework across both sectors or develop separate assessment methodologies reflecting their different operating models and infrastructures.

3. International example

The proposed EMH appears to reflect international examples of independent healthcare quality regulators. One such example is the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care services in England.

The CQC monitors, inspects and rates a broad range of healthcare and social care providers, including hospitals, care homes, GP services, dental practices and mental health service providers. It publishes inspection reports and assigns ratings on a four-tier scale: Outstanding, Good, Requires Improvement and Inadequate. The CQC’s remit extends to both NHS-funded services and private healthcare providers.

Healthcare sector participants should closely monitor the forthcoming legislation establishing the EMH. Particular attention should be paid to the authority’s inspection powers, the nature of any recommendations, corrective measures or sanctions that may follow inspections and the potential implications for procurement processes and contractual relationships with healthcare providers.