Medicine in Latvia

Latvia is a small country with modest resources and an unexpectedly high level of development of medicine and health tourism. A system of compulsory medical insurance has been introduced in the country, high-tech areas are actively developing - endoprosthesis replacement, eye microsurgery, cancer virotherapy and reproductive technologies. Public and private medicine in Latvia is guided by European standards: patients are treated according to updated protocols and drugs with proven efficacy are used that provide a lasting positive effect.

The healthcare system in Latvia

Public health care is organized on a solidarity principle: the economically active population pays contributions to the CHI fund, which covers the costs of primary health care in Latvia and part of secondary care services. To access public insurance, you need to take out a policy at the CHI agency (VOAVA) and choose a family doctor at a municipal dispensary or a private clinic. The right to free medical care within the framework of compulsory medical insurance is enjoyed by all residents of the country - employees and temporarily unemployed, self-employed, entrepreneurs, pensioners, students and children under 18 years of age:

• Latvian citizens and stateless people;
• foreigners with a permanent residence permit;
• citizens of the EU countries, the Eurozone and Switzerland - in municipal medical institutions on the EHIC card.

Tourists and migrants with a temporary residence permit and doctors in Latvia are served under commercial insurance within the coverage. Basic packages only compensate for emergency care; preventive and specialized medical care in Latvia is covered only by premium packages. Wives of Latvian residents with a temporary visa are entitled to free support during pregnancy and childbirth, and children entering the country for family reunification are provided with a permanent visa and free medical care until they reach the age of 7 years.

The e-health system in Latvia simplifies the interaction of patients with medical institutions and ensures the transparency of the service. On the E-health portal and the public services website Latvija.lv. records are kept on the services rendered and the costs of medical care for the owners of state medical policies and their families. The list of institutions providing medical services under compulsory medical insurance and commercial policies is presented on the website of the National Health Service (vmnvd.gov.lv).

Ambulance in Latvia

Calling an ambulance (112, 113) is a paid service; for the departure of the brigade, a fee of about 100 EUR is charged, not counting the cost of treatment and stay in the hospital. Emergency medical care is covered by insurance only in case of danger to life; You have 30 days to close your account. A pleasant exception has been made for citizens of Ukraine - an ambulance in Latvia, according to an international agreement, is provided free of charge.

If you feel unwell, which does not threaten the life of the patient, you should contact your family doctor during office hours, and after hours, go to the emergency department of the hospital on duty. A pediatrician can be called to your home free of charge, a therapist for a fee, and if you intend to cope with the ailment on your own, it does not hurt to consult a therapist on the hotline 66016001.

How to make an appointment with a doctor in Latvia

Electronic appointment with a doctor in Latvia through the website of the health service saves time - applications are accepted automatically. Most likely, it will not be possible to quickly make an appointment with a doctor in Latvia by phone - the dialing time in peak seasons reaches two to three hours.

In the private sector, you can sign up for a consultation with a doctor in Latvia on the clinic’s website through the feedback form or a chat bot in an online messenger. To get an appointment with a specialist or undergo a diagnosis according to compulsory health insurance, you need a referral from a family doctor; on their own initiative, visits to the dentist, gynecologist and ophthalmologist are allowed.

Waiting time for a doctor's appointment/consultation in Latvia

The average waiting time for a family doctor appointment is about a week; queues for specialists move very slowly and stretch for months. If you need a doctor's consultation in Latvia as soon as possible, but the paid option does not suit you, you can go to another medical facility where there are fewer queues; information on waiting times at different clinics is available on the health service portal. In simple cases, an online consultation on the VideoDoc portal can become an alternative to seeing a doctor – experienced doctors confidently diagnose diseases and give the right prescriptions via video link.

The cost of consultation and appointment with a doctor in Latvia

The appointment of a family doctor and a pediatrician is covered by insurance, but when visiting a specialist, taking tests and undergoing hardware diagnostics, you need to pay a fee of 2 to 8 EUR. For uninsured patients, the price of a doctor's appointment in Latvia is more expensive - 15–20 EUR for a consultation with a general practitioner and 20–50 EUR for a specialist; in a private clinic, the cost of a doctor's consultation in Latvia reaches 100 EUR and more. During hospitalization, a fee for a place in the ward is charged in the amount of 40–70 EUR/day; and if you don't have insurance, you'll have to pay for medical treatment, medicines, and nursing care.

Medical prescriptions in Latvia

Almost all pharmaceuticals, except for colds and mild painkillers, are dispensed strictly for their intended purpose, in addition, you will need a prescription to receive insurance compensation. Electronic prescriptions in Latvian pharmacies are checked by the ID-card number to which the CHI policy is linked, and copies of the prescriptions are sent to the operator to return money for VHI and commercial policies. If there is no way to quickly get to a doctor, you can get a prescription for a medicine in Latvia on the VideoDoc portal: neither pharmacists nor insurance operators undertake to challenge the appointments of accredited consultants.