Latvia

Health systems in transition
Latvia
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the development of telemedicine;
standardization of all health care services provided;
information recording each patient’s medical history, patient risk factors,
services received, pharmaceuticals, and recommendations for further
care;
improvement of the registration of information (health statistics, registration
of the use of medicines);
the establishment of a centralized portal of health care involving a web site
offering a wide range of resources and services, including public health,
population lifestyles, physical and social environment, latest research in
health care and health care legislation, with links to all state agencies.
Following implementation of the programme, patients will be able to book
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their visit to the family doctor or other specialist by e-mail and it will also
be possible to ask questions of interest and receive answers electronically.
Suggestions have been made concerning the introduction of a electronic patient
card that may also be useful while travelling abroad. It has been suggested that
the principle of this card would be very similar to that of Internet banking,
whereby each individual would have an account where all data would be filed,
and which would be accessible at any moment by use of a special code. This
would also be of use to medical professionals who would be better able to
cooperate and consult with colleagues in other health care institutions, in other
cities and even in other countries.
By the year 2000 there were managed teleconferences between Riga Stradins
Clinical University Hospital and the University of Uppsala in Sweden. The
implementation of e-health measures will also play an important role in the
regions, which at the moment suffer from a lack of sufficient specialists.
The HSMTSA has received financing from the Ministry of Health to
begin work on the e-health programme. The initial objective is to establish a
unified system of information about patients with specific diseases, integrating
various patient registers (TB, oncological diseases, mental diseases, the users
of psychoactive and narcotic drugs, STIs, multiple sclerosis, diabetes mellitus,
injuries and traumas, and others). It is expected that the new system will be
functional within 2007.
Another important system is the SCHIA management information system.
The new system is being tested through cross-referencing of information with
the SCHIA management information system. The information is to include data
on outpatient and inpatient care, patients that have undergone check-ups, child
dentistry and emergency medical services.
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