Estonia is a pioneer regarding quality and quantity of digital services being lost by many other countries. The introduction of electronic service
s in Estonia is easy because every citizen has an electronic ID card.
The strong recognition of online services was introduced in Estonia in 2002. An electronic identity card is mandatory for all Estonians.
An electronic ID card can be used to identify any electronic service in Estonia. Behind the same card or ID number are health data, electronic prescriptions and national health insurance, which is equivalent to the costs of publicly funded healthcare. An electronic recipe was introduced in the southern neighbourhood in 2010. The E-recipe spread in less than a year to almost all healthcare units.
Of all the recipes, 84% were written in 2011 electronically. Now the figure is 97%. In Finland, the popularization of the electronic recipe took years.
Using the electronic prescription service is simple for both the physician, the patient and the pharmacist. In a couple of seconds, the physician will be able to find out what kind of preparations the active drug is, what is the dosage of the medication and whether they are compatible with another patient's prescription.
The patient can retrieve medication from any pharmacy. The price will be deducted from the Estonian sickness fund, Eesti Haigekassan , if the medicine is included in the reimbursement.
The sickness allowance is also granted online. The doctor sends the information to the electronic system where they go to the sickness fund and the employer. Indemnities are paid directly into the patient's account and do not need to be applied separately. The eligibility benefit for early retirement and disability is decided and paid in the same way.
Digitalisation of social security benefits indirectly The benefits of digital services have been studied in Estonia, but there is no evidence of direct savings.
"The benefits are indirect and return to the patient or society as a whole. For example, it has not been found that time for a doctor would be saved through electronic services, "Tiik says.
In the longer term, for example, citizens' health data will accumulate in the national archives for years. Data is accumulated centrally, as in Estonia it is forbidden to archive the same information that has already been collected elsewhere.However, gathering information digitally will speed up the service. For example, a medical certificate may be obtained electronically if the necessary information is found in the health database."A medical certificate may be requested for a driving license in an electronic system. The applicant answers online questions that were previously asked by a doctor.
Then the applicant sends the information to his doctor, "Tiik explains.Family doctors are competing every Estonian has been listed on her own family doctor. The doctor can change if he wishes. The change is announced electronically or by paper, and the physician is usually obliged to take a new patient on their lists."The reception of a family doctor in Estonia is a basic health care unit.
The family doctor can send the patient to special medical care, but a lot of special medical care has also been passed on to the family doctor.
For example, patients with anti-hysterectomy drugs, diabetics and hypertension are mostly in the care of family doctors and are rarely attended by a specialist, "says Tiik.Doctors apply for a license in one municipality and act as self-employed entrepreneurs.Doctors apply for a license in one municipality and act as self-employed entrepreneurs.
The licensee is bidding, but the license is granted for a lifetime.Estonians pay only a fraction of the actual cost of their health care. Healthcare costs mainly in Eesti Haigeka. The size of the fees received by the physicians is determined by the capitation principle, i.e. the number of patients and the costs actually incurred.