To improve the situation of the Estonian healthcare system it would be necessary to make it more efficient, but it would also be necessary to find additional funds, said virology researcher Irja Lutsar (Eesti 200), a member of the Social Committee of the Riigikogu.
“One possibility is to further organize the healthcare system, but this alone will not save 170 million euros per year,” Lutsar said in response to ERR’s request for comment on Health Minister Riina Sikkut’s (SDE) statement according to which by 2025 there will be a lack of 170 million euros of funding for healthcare.
Lutsar highlighted the consolidation of obstetric care in larger hospitals as one of the savings points.
“In obstetric care, it has been proven that to ensure modern care and maintain the experience of the staff, there should be at least 500 births per year in the hospital. Based on health statistics and health research database, out of 12 hospitals offering care midwives in Estonia, there were more than 500 births in four hospitals in 2022 and in five hospitals in 2021. At the same time it is surprising that hospitals with a limited number of births are only 50-60 km away from each other,” he described Lutsar. “Consolidating maternity care would allow us to provide better care for both mother and baby with lower staffing costs,” she noted.
Even if the consolidation of medical care causes dissatisfaction in society, it will still be short-term, and in the long term, the quality of medical care will increase rather than decrease, Lutsar believes.
“Another possibility within the system is to ensure the right balance between the services of family doctors and specialists,” Lutsar said in his written comment to the ERR. He pointed out that too often people turn to hospital emergency departments (EMDs) instead of seeking help from a family doctor. “If a person /—/ decides to give up the family doctor and go directly to the EMO, the health insurance company will spend more money on his treatment, because the money for the treatment of an acute illness has already been allocated by the doctor family as a lump sum,” Lutsar said. “The emergency medical care report completed in the spring of this year offered several solutions to this problem, but these have not yet been implemented,” she added.
“However, simply saving 170 million euros will not add any benefit to the healthcare system. Compared to other OECD countries, Estonia is characterized by relatively low public funding and a high level of healthcare cost-sharing by citizens. Estonian doctors have repeatedly stressed “We have noticed that for years the country has been spending around 3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on healthcare, less than the average of OECD countries, and so far nothing has changed”, Lutsar said.
“Therefore, if we want to maintain or improve the level of medical care, we should increase state participation in healthcare financing and aim to reach at least the OECD average level. Here, however, we need a social agreement, since raising the level The share of GDP in one area inevitably comes at the expense of others,” continued the Riigikogu member.
At the same time, Lutsar reminded that healthcare funding increases more when the country’s economy improves. “In a richer country, people’s incomes are higher, the country has the opportunity to invest more in healthcare, as well as in innovation,” she said.
Lutsar also drew attention to the fact that health-damaging addictions, alcohol consumption, smoking and excessively sweet foods increase the burden on the health service and added that, in this perspective, the increase in excise duty on alcohol is fully justified. “Compared to wages, the cost of alcohol has decreased in recent years, and this is reflected in the increase in alcohol-related deaths,” she pointed out.
“In the long term, it is more cost-effective to contribute to healthy lifestyles and disease prevention, and this must be done. However, this will not immediately solve the ever-increasing lack of money. The problem could be solved by reviewing the current on the one hand the expenses and on the other the increase in the state contribution”, Lutsar summed up.
2023-12-16 07:21:00
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