The Ministry of Health reports that patients in Latvia will have access to several new state-paid medical services, including visits of family doctors to covid patients.
Services became available after the approval of the state budget. On Tuesday, the 4th of April, the government added amendments to the Cabinet of Ministers regulations for the rules of organisation and payment of healthcare services, expanding the list of state-funded medical services with:
consultations with nutritionists in the psycho-emotional support room for oncological patient at Riga Eastern Clinical University Hospital (RAKUS);
consultations with specialists who provide support to children suffering from behavioural disorders will be directly accessible and residents will no longer need a referral from their family doctor for a visit;
RAKUS will create a tracheostomy patient care cabinet, as the hospital faces the problem of long-term care of tracheostomy patients in cases where discharge from hospital and follow-up care is required.
Additional changes to regulations state that a family doctor is not authorised to remove children from their list of patients.
Persons who suffer from Hepatitis C infection will have access to infectologists as direct access specialist – no referral from a family doctor will be needed.
Visits of family doctors to Covid-19 patients will be paid for by the state.
The Ministry of Health previously reported several other healthcare services the state started funding from the 1st of April onward. These include laparoscopic myomectomy; medically supplemented food or special food; new screenings for newborns. On the other hand, from the 1st of October, a mobile team palliative care service will be available at the patient’s place of residence, this is because time is needed to properly organise it.
It is planned for medically supplemented food for adults will be compensated from the state budget as part of the National Health Service’s centralised procurement. For children it will be compensated by the Children’s Clinical University Hospital.
The budget of the healthcare sector in 2023 reaches EUR 1.6 billion. This includes EUR 85.8 million in additional funding. This amount is planned to be diverted towards cancer patients, children and wages of healthcare workers, the ministry reminds.
Also read: Minister: Latvia’s healthcare sector needs an additional EUR 150 million