People are increasingly interested in their prescription information in the State Portal

PRESS RELEASE
05.12.2014

Innovations pertaining to drug prescriptions in the State Portal have resulted in more active use of the e-service. The number of users of the service prescription view recently updated in the State Portal by the Health Insurance Fund has increased by about 4,000 visitors. If the number of users of the service in August was 11,000, then by the beginning of December the number of visits exceeded the threshold of 15,000.

The service for viewing of prescription drugs in the State Portal www.eesti.ee (EE) offers the opportunity for each person to get a quick overview of the medication prescribed for him or her since 2010, and to view detailed information on the prescriptions. Prescription drug information in the State Portal allows people to make informed choices in the pharmacy and save money. For viewing your prescriptions, you must log on to the portal with the ID card, mobile ID or through an internet bank.

All the person’s prescriptions have been able to be viewed in the portal for quite some time. In the portal, in information is available about when and to which drugs the doctor has issued a prescription, whether and how long the prescription is valid, and which medicines have been purchased earlier. With regard to the innovation, it is, however, possible to obtain a more detailed overview of the prescription. From now on, it is possible to see if a doctor has prepared the prescription based on the active ingredient or has the prescription issued for a specifically branded drug. If the doctor issues a prescription for a certain drug, in this view it is possible to see the reasons added by the doctor as in why the prescription was not issued on the basis of the active ingredient. In the case of a prescription based on an active ingredient, the pharmacists have an obligation first to offer the patient a drug of with a more favorable price class but having the same active ingredient. If the patient has chosen a more expensive drug, in the portal can be seen the indication of the pharmacist on the reasons why the most expensive drug was purchased.

As a significant change, from now on, in the view of prescription drugs that have been obtained, it is possible to see whether and how much the price of the purchased drug exceeded the set limit price and how much the patient could have saved by choosing in the pharmacy a drug from a more affordable price class but with the same active ingredient. The Health Insurance Fund reimburses the cost of medicines up to the limit price and by selecting a more expensive drug than the limit price in the pharmacy, the patient pays the remaining portion. If the prescription view of the State Portal shows that the purchased drug exceeding the set limit price, it would be a good idea to next time ask your doctor for dispensing a prescription based on the active ingredient and on the purchase of the drug to make sure that the pharmacist would also offer more favorable alternatives. Thus, it is possible to save expenses on drugs by making informed choices.

In addition to information about the prescription view of the service, in the web environment can be ordered the European health insurance card, check the validity of your health insurance, look at your family doctor's information, track the status of your certificate for temporary incapacity to work, submit an additional application for drug compensation, etc.