The new functionality of the electronic referral is still not ready for mandatory use in everyday practice by all family doctors as of May 5, stated the president of the Latvian Association of Family Doctors, Alise Nitzmane-Aishpure.
She stated that the "new" electronic referral has been developed for the second time. Most family doctors in Latvia have been using the so-called "old" e-referral for many years. It also had significant shortcomings identified earlier, but over the years it has been adapted in local healthcare institution systems or commercial programs, and most doctors use them successfully.
One of the most critical problems identified by the association of family doctors is the incomplete classifiers. For example, there are missing names of services and examinations, and there is no option to freely enter text in a blank field if the necessary examination is not in the classifier or if the doctor cannot understand under what name it is "hidden" in the system. For instance, in practice, it may be difficult for doctors to specify that an X-ray is needed specifically for the left wrist.
Therefore, colleagues are currently issuing the old e-referral.
If specific names are not indicated, the healthcare provider will not accept or will be unable to provide the necessary service or response.
Moreover, doctors are accustomed to using names in Latin, so they often cannot guess how a specific examination is named in the electronic health system in Latvian, and vice versa. The association also points out that there is no option to use synonyms for selection in the search engine.
After sharp objections from the association of family doctors, the Ministry of Health stated that the Latvian Center for Digital Health continues to improve the new e-referral to make it user-friendly.
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