Is There a Contingency Plan for Medication Access When e-Health Fails?

A question published in video format has been directed at the responsible authorities: is there a concrete action plan in place for situations where a patient urgently needs medication but cannot obtain it because of malfunctions in the e-Health system.

E-Health is an electronic system used in Latvia through which doctors issue digital prescriptions, which pharmacists then process at pharmacies to dispense medication to patients. The system has become the main channel for prescription circulation, making its uninterrupted operation important for everyday healthcare provision.

The question raised draws attention to the risk that arises when such a centralized digital system experiences a temporary outage or technical malfunction. In such cases, a patient could end up in a situation where a prescription has formally been issued, but the pharmacy cannot process it and dispense the medication because the necessary information is unavailable due to a system failure.

The question points to the need to clarify whether an alternative procedure is foreseen for such cases - for example, the possibility for a pharmacy to dispense medication without direct access to e-Health data, or some other temporary solution while the system is being restored.

It is not currently publicly known whether, and what, response the responsible institutions have given to this question, nor whether such a contingency plan actually exists.