Developing and implementing guidelines for health policy and clinical practice in Estonia: interim appraisal of progress (2015)

The Estonian Health Insurance Fund (EHIF), with support from partners including WHO, has invested in the development of a clinical guideline development process since 2011 that has resulted in:

• five completed high-quality clinical guidelines, of international standard, and 10 in progress, which were developed with reference to the Estonian handbook for guideline development (3), and with local ownership by health professionals participating in guideline panels and guideline development;
• completion of patient guidelines on six topics;
• over 200 health professionals in Estonia trained in evidence-based guideline development;
• developments linking the new guidelines with effective and appropriate quality standards;
• progress in transforming health professional workforce capabilities to practice evidence-based medicine using best practice internationally;
• effective links between the Ministry of Social Affairs, the EHIF and academic institutions such as the University of Tartu and the National Institute for Health Development in Estonia;
• changes to the reimbursement of some items and services funded by the EHIF to promote better quality of care; and
• an operational framework to improve the quality of care delivered in Estonia, particularly by family medicine practitioners.