Info

Coordinating Institution
SLIMIBU PROFILAKSES UN KONTROLES CENTRS
Contact person for health information portal
Janis Misins
SLIMIBU PROFILAKSES UN KONTROLES CENTRS
Governance and legal framework
Legal framework and institutional responsibilities

The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (hereinafter - the Centre) is an institution of direct administration under subordination of the Minister for Health. (Republic of Latvia, Cabinet Regulation No. 241, Adopted 3 April 2012, “By-laws of the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control” https://likumi.lv/ta/en/en/id/246288-by-laws-of-the-centre-for-disease-prevention-and-control).

The purpose of the operation of the Centre is to implement the public health policy in the State in sub-areas of epidemiological safety and disease prevention and the health care policy in the sub-area of health care quality, as well as to ensure the implementation and coordination of the health promotion policy.

The Centre shall have the following functions:

  • to develop proposals based on scientific evidence and corresponding to the best international practice for health care and public health policy-making, and to submit proposals regarding the priorities of such policy;
  • to carry out surveillance of noncommunicable diseases, to organise disease prevention and health promotion activities, as well as to assess the factors which may affect public health;
  • to carry out epidemiological surveillance, monitoring, and intelligence of infectious diseases;
  • to organise measures for the prevention and restriction of the spread of infectious diseases, including measures in population groups which are at an increased risk of infection or belong to special risk groups;
  • to coordinate and supervise enforcement of the policy planning documents in the sub-area of epidemiological safety;
  • to acquire, compile, process, and analyse statistical information regarding public health and health care;
  • to perform monitoring of public health;
  • to ensure methodological support to medical treatment institutions in medical treatment quality and patient safety issues;
  • to develop and maintain the range of performance results and indicators of health care for the analysis of operation and results of medical treatment institutions;
  • to provide informative support to public administration institutions for the implementation of physical health care of the population;
  • to draw up a list of clinical guidelines to be developed, to assess the clinical guidelines, and to ensure methodological management of their implementation.

Health Information system is centralised and based on Statistics Law https://likumi.lv/ta/id/274749-statistikas-likums, Regulations on the Official Statistics Program 2021–2023 https://likumi.lv/ta/id/319176-noteikumi-par-oficialas-statistikas-programmu-20212023-gadam, Rules on model official statistical forms in the field of health care (Republic of Latvia, Cabinet Regulation No. 720, Adopted 27 November 2018 https://likumi.lv/ta/id/303520-noteikumi-par-oficialas-statistikas-veidlapu-paraugiem-veselibas-aprupes-joma).

Health information strategy

There is no national health information strategy, however, to support greater care coordination, Latvia has begun to strengthen its health information infrastructure in recent years with the introduction of an eHealth system and eHealth portal started in 2016. The availability and use of health information should increase further in the years ahead. The introduction of the eHealth system is expected to increase the quality of health care as well as system efficiency.

Since 2010, a system has been implemented that allows patients to obtain information via the internet about all NHS-paid health services that they received. 

Health information sources and players
Main players (institutions)

The main health information stakeholders, as regulated by different laws are:

  • The Ministry of Health is responsible for planning and regulation of the health system, elaborating health policy and organizing and supervising its implementation. The Ministry of Health uses data on health statistics for the purposes of health care planning and management . In addition, the Ministry of Health has responsibility for medical education at the Riga Stradiņš University, and for postgraduate education and professional medical education centres.
  • The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDPC) is the central institution responsible for collecting and summarizing all health-related data in Latvia, including data collected by the NHS and the Central Statistical Bureau (CSB), for ensuring international  obligations by submitting data to WHO and OECD. CDPC also collects cause of death statistics, which are produced on the basis of data submitted by health care providers to municipalities. CSB provides CDPC data on population and the mortality figures are processed/disseminated by CDPC.
  • The National Health Services (NHS) collects all data related to the use of NHS paid health services. All contracted providers (hospitals, health centres, GPs), irrespective of their ownership status, have to electronically submit patient information about NHS paid services for payment purposes.

 

The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control establish, maintain, and update the following national information systems and databases under supervision of the Centre:

  • the State Infectious Diseases Supervision and Monitoring System (VISUMS);
  • the State Register of HIV/AIDS Cases;
  • the State Population Genome Register;
  • the Register of Newborns;
  • the Register of Patients Suffering from Certain Diseases;
  • the Database of State Statistical Reports on Health Care Sector;
  • the Database of Causes of Death of Inhabitants of Latvia;
  • the Database of Use of In-patient Bed Fund;
  • the Public Health Monitoring and Reporting System;
  • the Data Presentation System;
  • the Database of Clinical Guidelines;

 

The National Health Service establish, maintain, and update the following national information systems and databases under supervision of the Service:

  • the health care service payment settlement system "Management Information System", which ensures health care settlements;
  • the information system for the registration and accounting of reimbursable medicinal products;
  • the electronic international cooperation information system for the health sector;
  • the unified electronic information system of the health sector (e-health);
  • An integrated e-health platform at the NHS, including:
  • E-prescription
  • In-patient card and Hospital discharge data
  • Out-patient-card and GP’s data
  • E-sickness leave
  • database of health care service recipients;
Data protection
National data/privacy protection regulation and specific data access policies

National data/privacy protection regulation and specific data access policies is based on the following main acts:

Health information infrastructure and management
Health information infrastructure and management

Latvia has a well-developed legal framework for the collection of health statistical information. The responsibilities of different institutions, such as the CSB, the CDPC and the NHS are clearly defined by the 2016 “Statistics Law”  and the annual update of the “Regulations on the Programme of Official Statistics” . These regulations determine responsibilities for the preparation of statistical information and the conditions for users for obtaining health-related data.

The CDPC is the central institution responsible for collecting and summarizing all health-related data in Latvia, including data collected by the NHS on state paid services. The CDPC is also responsible for ensuring international obligations by submitting data to WHO and OECD, which is – according to technical feedback provided by these institutions.

Updated on 01 December 2023