Yesterday, 13 May, the National Health Service (NHS) hosted a meeting of Baltic health insurance institutions and the international non-profit association AIM (Association Internationale de la Mutualité). During the meeting, representatives of public healthcare authorities from Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania, together with AIM, discussed current developments and exchanged experience in the areas of payment models for publicly funded healthcare services and digitalisation, the NHS reports.
AIM representatives presented the association’s areas of activity, which include digital health, pharmaceuticals and long-term care. They also provided an overview of their study, “Fairer Medicine Prices Could Save the European Union EUR 27 Billion a Year”, the findings of which demonstrate that cooperation can lead to significant savings for public budgets. AIM was represented at the meeting by Executive Director Sibylle Reichert (Brussels), Vice-President for International Cooperation Yannick Lucas (France), Vice-President for Communication Marion von Wartenberg (Germany), and Senior Project Manager Corinna Hartrampf (Brussels).
Representatives of the Lithuanian health insurance fund also attended the meeting, sharing Lithuania’s experience with approaches to paying for publicly funded healthcare services and highlighting treatment and prevention outcomes in services where quality assessment criteria are used as part of the payment model. The Lithuanian delegation included Director Gytis Bendorius, Deputy Director for Healthcare Tatjana Golubajeva, Deputy Director for IT Aurimas Baliukevičius, and Head of the Pharmaceutical Reimbursement Division Evaldas Stropus.
Representatives of the Estonian Health Insurance Fund provided valuable insights into Estonia’s experience in introducing e-consultations for residents. E-consultations are not only an important element in the development of digital health but also a tool for improving access to healthcare services. They have significantly increased the volume of services provided by enabling family doctors to receive support from medical specialists and have reduced waiting times for consultations. The Fund was represented at the meeting by Chair Siiri Lahe, European Union Service Manager Liisa Merimaa, Primary Healthcare Services Specialist Monika Soosaar, while Management Board Member Karl-Henrik Peterson participated online.
“We highly value the participation of the Baltic health insurance institutions and AIM in the meeting and are pleased to have the opportunity to strengthen our existing cooperation. We see considerable value in continuing to exchange experience, as we face similar challenges and share a common goal – to develop the healthcare system by making it more efficient, patient-centred and digitally advanced,” emphasises NHS Director Āris Kasparāns.
During the meeting, NHS representatives presented the payment models used in Latvia for publicly funded healthcare services, which are focused on outcomes and quality. These models are designed to encourage healthcare providers to deliver an appropriate standard of care to the population and improve the patient experience when accessing publicly funded services.
Together with specialists from the Latvian Digital Health Centre, the NHS also presented Latvia’s experience in developing and implementing e-referral functionality. The transition to electronic referrals represents another important step in the digitalisation of the healthcare system and provides an essential tool for improving access to services, in line with the principle of “one referral – one appointment”, while also enabling the collection of higher-quality data on the use of services at healthcare institutions.