Latvia Reaches a Milestone in Digital Oncology Care

On 31 May this year, a major milestone in the digital transformation of oncology care in Latvia is set be reached with the conclusion of the project “Development of Clinical University Hospital Oncology Patient Data Exchange Platform”. Launched on 6 December 2023, the project aims to create a platform for optimally coordinated exchange of oncology patient data within the clinical university hospitals – Riga East Clinical University Hospital (RAKUS), Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital (PSKUS), and Children’s Clinical University Hospital (BKUS) – as well as to ensure the digitalised exchange of oncology patient treatment and care data between these institutions.

A Unified Platform for Oncology Data Exchange

The results and benefits of the project are further explained by Aija Lagzdina, Director of Digital Transformation at RAKUS. A. Lagzdina notes that the data exchange platform for oncology patients has been implemented and is being further developed within clinical university hospitals, providing a unified, digitalised and standardised flow of patient data, thereby improving coordination of the treatment process and data quality.

Cooperation Between Institutions

Both objectives – the creation of a digital data exchange platform and the establishment of effective mutual data exchange between hospitals – are being achieved. The platform has already been developed and implemented, while the adaptation of related systems for data digitalisation and user training is currently ongoing in order to ensure even broader practical data exchange and cooperation between the involved institutions.

Supporting Collaborative Cancer Care

During the project, the university hospitals have jointly developed solutions for both paediatric and adult treatment and care needs, including the exchange of multidisciplinary oncology board decisions, transfer of surgical and diagnostic reports, as well as mutual access to medical images and videos between hospitals.

The platform will provide healthcare institutions with several key functionalities – organisation and decision-making support for inter-hospital councils, mutual exchange of diagnostic and results data, as well as real-time information exchange with the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control in Latvia regarding the epidemiological situation and methodological guidelines. At the same time, it will foster centralised, secure and timely access to patient data and cooperation between clinical university hospitals.

Benefits for Patients

Patients will experience the project’s results with a faster, more coordinated and higher-quality care. Unified and up-to-date information will help ensure timely initiation of appropriate treatment, improve patient safety and care quality, and promote consistent, evidence-based clinical decision-making throughout the treatment process.

Timely access to essential diagnostic results across clinical university hospitals will be ensured, together with the possibility to rapidly organise inter-hospital councils for complex cases, as well as improved continuity of care. For patients, this will mean shorter waiting times, more accurate decisions, and a reduced need to repeat examinations or attend additional consultations at different healthcare institutions, as the necessary information will be available digitally to clinicians.

Future Expansion and Integration

Following the completion of the project, further expansion and integration of the platform within the wider health sector is planned – by enhancing functionality, connecting additional healthcare institutions and integrating the solution with other health information systems.

In the future, the platform is expected to be integrated into the unified health sector information system architecture, including linkage with the planned Unified Hospital Information System (VIPS), to ensure even broader availability and interoperability of medical data across healthcare providers. At the same time, it is essential to ensure long-term maintenance, data quality monitoring, and user training.

A Foundation for Future Healthcare Innovation

One of the most significant benefits is that, for the first time, a practically usable mechanism for real-time inter-hospital data exchange in oncology patient care has been created, laying the foundation for the development of similar solutions in other areas of healthcare in the future.

Project Funding and Timeline

The development and implementation of the oncology patient data exchange platform is being carried out under the European Union Recovery and Resilience Facility plan 2.1.3.1.i investment project “Development of Clinical University Hospital Oncology Patient Data Exchange Platform” (project No. 2.1.3.1.i.0/2/23/I/CFLA/003).

The implementation of the main project results is planned to be completed by 31 May 2026, followed by a gradual expansion of use and user training.