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The president admitted that functional problems still occur in the e-health system but stressed that the system’s developers are working to deal with these issues.

Vejonis believes that the glitches in the e-health system are an indication that those who commissioned the software had not defined their requirements clearly enough.

“It is possible that years ago, when the e-health project was started, those who worked out the requirements failed to define some things precisely enough and now these things have to be corrected. But the Health Ministry is working to deal with these problems, and we expected them to be dealt with,” the president said.

As reported, Health Minister Anda Caksa (Greens/Farmers) has promised that in two months’ time the e-health system will turn "from an obstacle into an asset". She said she was not happy with the speed of the e-health system, especially considering that four months had already passed since the use of the new system became mandatory.

All efforts are being made to improve the system's speed, especially since the state social insurance scheme will take effect on January 1, 2019, and the e-health system would then have to be used to determine whether the patient was entitled to the government-paid health care services.

The Health Ministry knows what has to be done to improve the performance of the e-health system and experts are working "day and night", Caksa said, adding that the ministry had also brought in international experts with experience in operation of large systems. Recommendations made by family physicians and hospitals about what should be improved in the e-health system are also being taken into account.