The volume of family healthcare was €85 million and visits to a family doctor numbered 945,000 between January and October of this year, the EHIF reported.

The number of people who received specialist medical care was 694,000, and three million visits were made to specialist doctors, costing the fund €468 million over the nine-month period.

Nursing services were provided to 15,000 people, costing the EHIF €24 million. Outpatient care was provided for 44,000 people, while inpatient care was provided for another 102,000 patients. Th average duration of a hospital stay was 6.2 days.

The e-Consultation system was utilized in 16 medical specialties, with the number of e-consultations conducted quadrupling on year. During this nine-month period, 189,000 calls were placed to the Family Doctor Hotline, which operates 24/7.

High-cost treatment cases costing over €65,000 per case were funded for altogether €6.4 million euros, €2 million more than during the same period a year ago.

Medical products distributed at a discount were compensated for on the basis of more than six million medical prescriptions at a total cost of €92 million, averaging €15 per prescription. 779,000 patients benefited from this service.

Treatment of insured Estonians abroad cost the fund €6.5 million; altogether some 400 people received medical treatment paid for by the EHIF abroad.

The benefit for incapacity for work was paid to 148,000 individuals, and the total number of sick days taken during this period was 4.6 million. The payout by the EHIF per sick day was €23.50, with payouts totaling €108 million.