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Neurological letter from Lithuania
  1. Kristijonas Puteikis,
  2. Rūta Mameniškienė
  1. Faculty of Medicine, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania
  1. Correspondence to Kristijonas Puteikis; kristijonas.puteikis{at}mf.vu.lt

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Background of the Lithuanian healthcare system

Lithuania is one of the three Baltic countries located in Northern Europe, and has a population of 2.9 million (figure 1). Being geographically placed between the East and the West, Lithuania’s history has been marked by a period tension and torment in the 20th century, followed by major societal changes and rapid economic growth after regaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. Neurological care in Lithuania has adapted over the years to meet European standards, while taking account of demographic, political and societal transformations.

Figure 1

The location of Lithuania (dark green) within the European Union (green), its flag and coat of arms (bottom left). Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).

All Lithuanian inhabitants currently paying monthly insurance contributions (6.98% of the minimal monthly salary) to the National Health Insurance Fund have access to reimbursable health services and medications. Despite health expenditure having recently increased to 5.4% of GDP in 2021, this is still lower than the European Union’s average (€2312 vs €4029 per capita).1 Out-of-pocket payments comprise around a third of healthcare expenditure, and are primarily used for pharmaceuticals (many medications are fully reimbursed but others only partially) and dental care. The lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic also resulted in relatively high and lasting unmet medical needs within the public sector, leading to abundant private care providers whose services may not be reimbursed in full. While public healthcare in Lithuania has acceptable availability—for instance, most outpatients can see a neurologist within 1–3 months—officially, 70% of patients wait for less than 30 days2; however, patients may wait several months for appointments at a tertiary centre for specialised elective care. Some people therefore use the private sector as a ‘fast-track’ alternative. While ease of access may differ, patients are free to choose any healthcare provider and doctor nationwide. Patients’ clinical …

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Footnotes

  • X @K_Puteikis

  • Contributors Conceptualisation, resources, visualisation, writing – original draft preparation, writing – review and editing: KP, RM. Supervision: RM. KP is the guarantor.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Map disclaimer The inclusion of any map (including the depiction of any boundaries included), or of any geographic or locational reference, does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of BMJ concerning the legal status of any country, territory, jurisdiction or area or of its authorities. Any such expression remains solely that of the relevant source and is not endorsed by BMJ. Maps are provided without any warranty of any kind, either express or implied.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Commissioned. Externally peer-reviewed by Colin Mumford, Edinburgh, UK and Lina Aleknaite, Torbay, UK.