2024-04-27 00:07:44
Also this year’s campaign We are looking for a good family doctor invites you to honor family doctors and nurses who take care of patients every day, doing their work responsively, selflessly and with an excellent attitude. The work of a family doctor is responsible, but not easy, especially in the regions, but several important agreements have been reached with the government, which will improve the current situation, says Līga Kozlovska, president of the Association of Latvian Rural Family Doctors.
The industry lacks young professionals
“The Association of Rural Family Doctors of Latvia has always been very active and ready to cooperate with both state institutions and other non-governmental organizations. We always participate in the activities and working groups organized by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the National Health Service (NVD). We have been involved in national health in the development of the industry development plan, we are cooperating with the Saeima and politicians to promote the development of our specialty,” says Līga Kozlovska, president of the Association of Rural Family Doctors of Latvia, and emphasizes that there is currently a pressing need to prepare and attract young professionals to the industry. “In the country, more than 30% of family doctors are of retirement age. Almost 70% are over 50 years old. This means that there is an urgent need for a generational change.” She says that the regions lack the most young family doctors. The further from Riga, the more complicated the situation. Poor infrastructure, low population density, problems with the ability to complete a family doctor’s team, long distances to specialists, which often force responsible decisions about the patient’s health to be made by themselves, long distances when visiting patients on home visits are the main challenges in the regions.
Year after year, the state increases the scope of duties for family doctor’s practices. Patient health prevention programs are being expanded, the range of available services will increase, but first of all, professionals who will be able to do it, significantly more state support and digitization of the industry are needed.
Family doctors working in the regions must have extensive knowledge. With a team consisting of one, in the best case – two assistants, it is necessary to be able to make competent, sometimes even bold decisions regarding both patient diagnoses and further treatment tactics, referral to other specialists and examinations. It is necessary to act quickly and responsibly if the patient has to be sent through the “green corridor” in order to receive the necessary examinations as soon as possible and to be able to start treatment in the event of an oncological diagnosis.
For surcharges in more remote regions
Attracting family doctors to more remote regions of the country is a problem that exists all over the world, including European countries. Other places are also trying to find different solutions to encourage young specialists to work in more remote regions. How to achieve this?
Although there has been a significant increase in funding for health care in recent years, it is still insufficient, covering only slightly more than half of what is needed. “Tariffs have not been revised for many years, but the cost of living is growing in all directions: electricity, utility bills, prices for various medical goods that are used in manipulations. As a result, part of the manipulations performed in practice according to the current tariff are below cost. The amount of work, the load, the level of stress and remuneration are not comparable. Young specialists evaluate all this and, when looking for their path in life, choose the one with less complications. It is essential that the family doctor’s practice can not only survive, but also function with maximum quality – only then will it be possible to attract the new shift,” explains L. Kozlovska.
However, as a result of long-term and patient persuasion work, an understanding of several positions has been achieved in the Ministry of Justice and NVD. Practice maintenance expenses have been increased from 750 euros in previous years to 1000 euros this year. This year, it was also possible to obtain an additional supplement for replacement in case of vacation or illness, so that patients could be accepted by a colleague – a substitute doctor.
The Association of Rural General Practitioners has worked especially hard so that the general practitioner has the opportunity to expand the team and attract several assistants. “We hope that from May practices will be able to hire another state-paid employee who will help communicate with patients by inviting them to screenings, work with practice documentation and perform other duties. This employee may not be a physician, but rather an administrator,” reveals the president of the association. .
In the development plan of the Ministry of Health, it is also indicated as a priority that, starting from 2025, a premium coefficient will be set in the wages of family doctors’ practices, adjusting it to the distance from Riga hospitals, in order to motivate young doctors to work in more remote regions of Latvia – the further, the higher the premium. L. Kozlovska knows how to say that this principle also works in other European countries, for example, in Finland and Portugal, at the most distant border points, these allowances are even three times higher than for family doctors in Helsinki or Lisbon. “Bad roads and the liquidation of schools are some of the reasons why young doctors do not want to work in the province. Local governments are willing to help in many places within their capabilities, but there should also be centralized guidelines and action from the state.”
A wider range of examinations should be provided
From next year, it is also planned to expand the range of various manipulations paid for by the state, so that patients can receive as many services as possible in local GP practices. For example, an indicator of inflammation in blood tests. “Now we take it from the vein and send it to the laboratory. Often the result is only available the next day, but with the express diagnostic method it would be possible to determine it immediately and it would be clear whether the patient has a viral or bacterial infection. This way, it will be possible to evaluate whether or not it will be necessary to prescribe antibiotics,” says L. Kozlovska, who herself has a family doctor’s practice in Balvu district. She is also the head of the residency program in family medicine specialty at Riga Stradins University. The university has been conducting ultrasonography training at the first level for the second year. Family doctors who have learned it will be able to carry out these examinations on site in their practices, as well as electrocardiograms, which should be carried out in every practice.
“In taking care of the patient’s health, preventive measures, reminding about screenings, informing about a healthy lifestyle, possibly sending to a physiotherapist, play a very important role, so that the patient does not rely on medication alone, but exercises and moves, thus improving his health,” emphasizes Dr. Kozlovska .
A family doctor in rural areas is often not only a doctor, but also a patient’s confidant, who knows both the patient himself and his relatives, who are also often patients of the same doctor.
2024-04-27 00:07:44