This Health system review was written, managed and co-ordinated by Agnès Couffinhal. The other authors of the report are Jens Wilkens and Karolina Socha-Dietrich. The authors wish to thank Mark Pearson, Francesca Colombo and Stefano Scarpetta from the OECD Directorate of Employment, Labour and Social affairs for their detailed comments and suggestions as well as Ruth Lopert and Kate Cornford for their insights and review. Thanks also to Duniya Dedeyn and Lucy Hulett for editing support.
The OECD Secretariat would like to thank the Lithuanian authorities for their outstanding support throughout the process of this review. The process had the full support of the Ministry’s leadership, first Vice-Ministers Valentin Gavrilov and Jūratė Sabalienė and subsequently Minister Aurelijus Veryga. All the staff at the International Cooperation Division, most notably, Radvilė Jakaitienė deserve special thanks for their contributions to organising the initial fact‑finding mission in November 2016 and their commitment to ensuring the authors liaise with counterparts in the Lithuanian health system throughout the project. The OECD Secretariat is also grateful to all the people who have been interviewed, provided data, and responded to detailed questions very responsively. Invaluable information and thorough explanations of the Lithuanian health system have been provided by many staff in the Ministry’s Healthcare Resources and Innovation Management Department, the Pharmacy Department, the Health Economics Department, the Personal Healthcare Department, the Public Healthcare Department, the Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Department, and the Legal Department. Numerous representatives from the National Health Insurance Fund, the State Medicines Control Agency, the Institute of Hygiene, and the State Health Care Accreditation Agency have contributed greatly with information and insights. Valuable information has also been provided by staff from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Office of the Prime Minister. The review has benefitted from comments of Lithuanian authorities who reviewed earlier drafts.
During the initial mission the review team also greatly benefitted from fruitful meetings with the health and social municipality administrations of Druskininkai, as well as representatives of the local hospital, PHC Centre and Public Health Bureau. Furthermore, very informative interviews were conducted with key organisations providing important insights, including the Lithuanian Nurses’ Organization, the Lithuanian General Practitioner’s Society, the Vilnius University Hospital, the Lithuanian Hospital Managers Association, the Lithuanian Hospital Association, the Medicines Manufacturer’s Association, the local American Working Group, the Innovative Pharmaceutical Industry association, the Help of Cancer Patients Association, and the Order of Malta Relief Organization.