Family doctors further expanding scheduled care
The Estonian Family Medicine Association has decided in cooperation with medical directors of the crisis situation to begin further expanding first-level scheduled medical care beginning Tuesday. First and foremost, this will affect health checks that are required when applying for various licenses.
The association wrote on its Facebook page that the first two weeks of careful restoration of appointments at family medical centers has indicated that it is possible to take the next step toward restoring normal operations.
Until now, family medical centers were only accepting patients with acute illnesses, intensification of chronic illnesses and mental health issues, as well as providing health checks for children of all ages and vaccinations for people of all ages. Care will now be expanded, however, to include health checks needed to apply for a driver's license or gun license as well as for employment.
Family doctors are stressing that all previously agreed-upon rules will be followed in the case of health checks, including the separation of well and sick patients with minimal contact in waiting rooms, hand-washing and surgical masks for patients.
"We initially ask that patients belonging to risk groups wait a little bit longer with their scheduled health checks if their chronic illnesses are stable," the announcement read. "And it will still be a while for preventive screenings."
-
Download the ERR News app for Android and iOS now and never miss an update!
Editor: Aili Vahtla