A proposal to decriminalize drug use might soon be submitted to Saeima for debating, Interior Ministry undersecretary of state Jānis Bekmanis told the press April 12.
The sight of cigarette cartons on display in stores is set to become a thing of the past after the Saeima on April 4 passed amendments to the law that will put tobacco products out of sight.
After repeat tests have shown that samples of the Rigvir anti-cancer medicine contain a smaller amount of the active ingredient than promised by the manufacturer, there are calls for police to investigate the case and for patients to demand their Rigvir is tested as well, reported LTV April 2.
Rigvir, a Latvia-invented injectable cancer drug, finds itself at the center of fresh controversy after LTV investigative show De Facto revealed vials of Rigvir virus sold to patients appeared to be less than they seem.
Due to multiple problems in the e-health system, implementation of the third round of the project has been put on hold, the LETA newswire reported March 5.
The flu has claimed 52 lives this season, according to Latvia's Center for Disease Control and Prevention data for last week.
Last week flu intensity in Latvia dropped by 25.8 percent, still it claimed lives of 11 more people in a week, according to data from the Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Latvia's healthcare system is not viable right now, as there are too few taxpayers supporting too large a system, said Latvia's PM Krišjānis Kariņš (New Unity) appearing on LTV February 20.
Latvian politicians promise a discussion over legalizing medicinal marijuana, reported Latvian Radio February 14.
On February 12, the Cabinet of Ministers approved amendments to the Health Care Financing Law prepared by the Ministry of Health which envisage that even after Britain's withdrawal from the European Union (EU) or "Brexit" on March 29, its citizens in Latvia will be able to receive state-funded healthcare services.
Latvian residents enjoy fewer "healthy life years" than any other European Union country, according to latest data from Eurostat released February 4.
A small amount of beef from a Polish slaughterhouse where sick cattle were illegally butchered to be sold as meat has ended up in Latvia's Lido restaurant chain, Ilze Meistere, a spokeswoman for the Food and Veterinary Service, told LETA February 1.
In the first quarter of 2019, Latvia's Olainfarm will deliver second-line anti-tubercular drugs worth $1 million to the World Health Organization.
The "mass outflow" of Emergency Medical Service (NMPD) staff has been stopped, Raita Krišjāne, deputy head of the NMPD Rīga regional center told the press January 18.
Saeima on January 17 passed in the final reading a bill to postpone, until July 1, the launch of a new healthcare financing system that would separate healthcare services into two baskets of services accessible depending on one's social tax contributions.
This winter, fewer people than last year have received treatment for cold injuries. Nevertheless, people are invited to be watchful and inform emergency services.
The Saeima social and labor affairs committee has backed the initiative of postponing the introduction of the new healthcare system, said committee leader Andris Skride (Development/For!) January 9.
The Saeima social and labor affairs committee on January 8 plans to discuss a proposal to postpone application of the Healthcare Financing Law, providing that all healthcare services paid for by the state would be available only to insured residents, to June 1, the committee chairman Andris Skride (For Development/For) told the press.
The Latvian Medical Association wants the current healthcare financing system unchanged until June, the association told LETA January 2.
To date, over 3,000 people without state health insurance have voluntarily paid health insurance contributions, Inga Milasevica, director of the National Health Center, told journalists Friday.
LTV's Forbidden Method (Aizliegtais paņēmiens) show has investigated the price differences between Over The Counter (OTC) medication within four EU member states.
The Saeima on December 6 passed in the final reading amendments to the law on budget and financial management intended to resolve the issues arising from a delayed adoption of the 2019 state budget.
A proposal to alter transitional regulations on financing for healthcare, which stipulate that the government will have to provide financing for increasing healthcare employees' wages by 20% on the average during the next three years, will be reviewed at a Saeima plenary session next week, Saeima Social and Employment Matters Committee decided on December 5.
About 3% of children fully forgo immunization for their children, according to data by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
After two children died due to not receiving vaccines and shots, the Rīga's Children's Clinical University Hospital has issued a call for parents not to eschew vaccinating their children.
The Latvian Hospital Association has warned that the hospital sector can find itself in a state of emergency next year because of the Constitutional Court’s ruling on the regulation for medics’ overtime work, the association’s chairman Jevgenijs Kalejs told the LETA newswire November 23.
Considering the uncertainty about the new government, the Health Ministry will ask the outgoing government to make the decision in increasing medics’ wages, said the ministry’s acting state secretary Daina Murmane-Umbrasko.
The Health Ministry will urgently draft amendments in order to expand the range of medics who can work at the Emergency Medical Service, Health Minister Anda Čakša (Greens and Farmers Union) told reporters after the government committee's meeting November 12.
It's possible to amend the healthcare law, especially in relation to linking health care services with social contributions, while annulling it would also annul wage rise for medics, said outgoing Health Minister Anda Čakša (Greens and Farmers Union) in an interview with Latvian Radio November 5.
On October 25 four out of six potential coalition parties in the 13th Saeima gathered to discuss the ongoing healthcare reform, reported LTV.