The most important step in order to receive a medical care in Latvia, is to find a general practitioner (we call it "ģimenes ārsts") for yourself and your family members. It may be challenging at first because many of them have a lot of patients in their family doctors' practices, but don't give up. Try again, and eventually you will find your doctor.

On the website of National Health Service of Republic of Latvia, they write: "In order to find out more information about family doctors in Latvia, please, call to the telephone through toll free line to citizens of Latvia 80001234 (between 8.30 to 17.00 o'clock on working days), as well as by telephone +371 67045005 for calls from abroad (between 8.30 to 17.00 on working days). 

When you are sick or just want a regular check-up, family doctor's practice is the first place to reach out to. However, if it is an emergency, call 113 or 112.

If you are officially registered in the practice, the appointment costs only a couple of euros (except for some paid services). Your family doctor treats common illnesses, orders simple examination tests, prescribes medication, but often will suggest you see another specialist. In this case, the family doctor will write a referral ("nosūtījums") to see another doctor who is a specialist in a particular area, for example, a cardiologist, etc. 

If you cannot attend a family doctor, let's say the family doctor's working hours have ended or it is the weekend, and you need advice on regular illnesses, you can call the General Practitioner Helpline at 66016001 (24 hours on weekends and public holidays, 5.00 p.m. - 8.00 a.m on weekdays).

With a referral, patients can visit specialists such as cardiologists, neurologists, endocrinologists, or dermatologists etc. Referrals are also required for certain diagnostic procedures like X-rays, MRI scans, and laboratory tests. The referrals are not required to see such specialists as gynecologists, ophthalmologist etc.

In Latvia there is a public healthcare system, and a private healthcare system.
In the public healthcare system, a referral is essential for accessing subsidized care by specialists or diagnostic tests. For example, in hospitals you can receive subsidized care, it means, if you have a referral, you can make an appointment with a doctor and pay only about four euros. We call it "pacienta līdzmaksājums" (patient contribution). It is a small part from the total costs of services. However, as many people want to use this opportunity, sometimes it may take even a couple of months before you get to see the specialist. If you need to see the doctor as soon as possible, you can pay the full cost of the appointment yourself and see the doctor sooner. 

If the doctor you want to see works in his/her private practice, the referral system doesn't work, you will need to pay the full price yourself. For example, the price of a doctor's appointment may vary from 40-100 euros (or more in some cases).

Each child should have a family doctor who provides primary healthcare services. In the public healthcare system, the visits with family doctor or a pediatrician are free of charge. Also, in Latvia there is a national vaccination schedule, and vaccines included in the program are also free of charge.

In public healthcare system, doctor appointments with a referral from the family doctor are free of charge for children. The dental care is free, too. But only with a condition that the clinic has a contract with the National Health Service. Here you can read more about it: https://www.vmnvd.gov.lv/en/dental-care 

piearsta.lv - It is a Latvian online platform that enables users to schedule appointments with doctors. It is user friendly and easy to use, however, keep in mind that you cannot schedule appointments with all doctors, sometimes you will have to call the clinic or the hospital.

datamed.lv - It provides doctors and patients with a way to share and access medical information online. Doctors can upload and review medical data, while patients can check their results. For example, if you did a blood test, the results will be available on DataMed, regardless of which laboratory you performed the test at. Also, when you have logged in your profile, you can also see your kids' test results in the section "mani aizbilstamie". But keep in mind that you will have access to the results for 30 days, in order to see older medical data, you will need to pay for it (about 10 euros). 

e-veseliba.lv - doctors can issue digital prescriptions for medications, which are stored in the system and can be accessed by patients and pharmacies. This reduces the need for paper prescriptions. In order to buy the prescribed medicine, you will need to show your ID in the pharmacy, and the pharmacist will have access to it online at e-veseliba.lv

Health care in Latvia - the website of National Health Service in Latvia. Here you can get all the information you need about the healthcare system in Latvia.

The biggest hospitals in Riga:
Rīgas 1. slimnīca
Rīgas Austrumu klīniskā universitātes slimnīca
Paula Stradiņa Klīniskā universitātes slimnīca
Rīgas 2. slimnīca
Rīgas Dzemdību nams (Riga Maternity Hospital)