What healthcare changes are expected from January 1st
The Ministry of Health (MoH) presents important changes in the healthcare sector that will take effect starting from January 1, 2025. The changes will ensure more effective cancer prevention for patients and better training opportunities for healthcare workers.
Developing healthcare services
From 1 January 2025, the age limits for the early diagnosis of breast cancer programme will be extended. Women aged 45 to 74 years (inclusive) will be invited to be screened for the disease and will receive a mammogram and evaluation every 2 years. Until now, this prevention programme has been aimed at women aged 50 to 69 years (inclusive). Mammography is an effective preventive measure to detect cancer earlier and increase the number of curable cases.
Starting in January, the organization of early diagnosis and treatment for oral, facial, and jaw cancers will also change, which will help diagnose these diseases earlier and begin treatment in earlier stages of the disease. From now on, each patient will undergo an initial oral check-up and preventive care by a dentist or dental hygienist. If abnormalities are detected, the patient will be referred for a specialised consultation and more detailed tests. If cancer is detected, patient's treatment will be provided by one of the four medical institutions offering specialized oncological care.
In February, the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund (CHIF) will begin to reimburse the cost of tumour molecular genetics testing by DNA sequencing, tumour molecular karyotyping and tumour genome methylation testing, tests will be prescribed by doctors working in six medical institutions belonging to the oncology disease cluster. Unlike the current national genetic tests for solid tumours, which only look at one or a few specific gene changes, the molecular genetics test by DNA sequencing will allow dozens of genes to be tested at once. This will help to detect genetic targets with sensitivity and specificity, and to target more effective treatments for each patient, reducing the risk of side effects.
Dentists who have completed their studies in dentistry at Vilnius University from 2025 or at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences from 2026 will be able to carry out procedures related to the treatment of bite anomalies, provided that orthodontic procedures were included in their studies. This will allow more people to receive the treatment they need and ensure wider access to orthodontic care.
Starting from January 1, a ministerial order comes into effect, which significantly increases access to the diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea. As of January, personal health care facilities that also provide inpatient secondary-level pulmonology services must have a polysomnograph and perform polysomnography. Previously, this service was only required to be provided by institutions offering tertiary-level pulmonology services. The introduction of this service in more facilities will reduce the waiting list for polysomnography.
Focus on medical workers
The health professional competence platform will be launched in January 2025 to collect, organise and analyse data on the professional development of healthcare workers, pharmacists and others in the health sector. This information technology tool will be used to identify the need for further training of health workers and to monitor compliance with licence conditions.
Medical workers will be able to log in to the platform to see their training history and choose the training that suits their professional needs. Educational institutions and development organisations will provide information on courses and programmes that will be visible on the platform. It will include a competency assessment function to analyse and evaluate the performance of professionals. Public authorities such as the Institute of Hygiene, the State Service for Accreditation of Health Care Activities under the Ministry of Health and the State Drug Control Service will be able to check compliance of professionals with the requirements for updating their qualifications. Changes to the procedure for coordinating professional development programmes and one-off events will also ensure a higher quality of professional development. Non-governmental organisations of medical workers have been involved in this process.
Nursing administrators will also face changes. The general qualification requirements for nursing administrators will come into force on 1 January 2025 and will apply to newly recruited nursing administrators, while all nursing administrators will have to meet higher qualification requirements from 1 January 2031. Until now, nursing administrators in personal health care institutions could be appointed by the head of the institution, with much lower requirements in terms of educational level and professional experience, which were only of a guidance nature.
To ensure the safety of specialists providing outpatient home nursing services (OHN), starting from January 1, 2025, a requirement will come into effect that mandates OHN service teams to be equipped with devices to determine the location of each team member. Information about the location of each team member must be recorded and stored for at least 12 months from the time the service is provided to the patient, after which it must be destroyed.
As part of the implementation of the collective agreement signed in November this year in the Lithuanian national health system, from 1 January 2025, the salaries of health sector employees working in public personal health care institutions will increase by 10% on average.
A new model for outpatient healthcare services
From 1 January 2025, the model for the provision of primary outpatient healthcare will change. Primary care facilities will open between 7am and 8am. Full services will be available for 12 hours. If the workload of family doctors at an institution is less than 3 full-time equivalents and the institution cannot operate for 12 hours a day, it will be allowed to contract with another institution within the same municipality for the remaining hours of the day. These changes will ensure a clearer pathway for patients through the health system and improve access to services provided by family doctors.
With the upcoming changes, primary outpatient healthcare services (urgent outpatient services) for acute conditions must be provided within 24 hours. Along with family doctors and representatives from emergency medical services, a list of acute conditions for which urgent outpatient services will be provided has been prepared.
The list includes situations that require immediate treatment, such as severe pain, prolonged fever, trauma, acute allergic reactions, nausea or vomiting. For children, conditions such as fever >37.8°C for more than 24 hours, rash, pain or surface wounds are also included. This list helps to ensure priority treatment and better management of patient flows. Services will be available in emergency rooms and, in those municipalities where such rooms are not available, in reception-emergency departments.
Changes to Driver's License Validity
As of 1 January, when the medical certificate expires, the driving licence will no longer be valid. The medical certificate will have to be valid permanently, not just at the time of the change of driving licence.
There are two ways to find out if a medical certificate is still valid:
1. By identifying yourself through the e-Government gateway in the “Drivers' Portal”;
2. By entering your driving licence number and personal identification number in the “Regitra” e-system.
The driver's health check may be carried out at the health care facility where the patient is registered or at any other personal health care facility providing these services. People who have had a medical check-up do not need to do anything extra – “Regitra” will automatically receive the data and extend the validity of the driving licence.
Last updated: 13-01-2025
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