Estonia
This is a list of data sources for Estonia.
Cancer Centers
Administrative or Claims Data
Estonia’s healthcare system is the Health Insurance System, described as “solidarity-based health insurance”(1) and the Estonian Health Insurance Fund (EHIF) is the public law organization responsible for providing the organization of national healthcare services in accordance with the Health Insurance Act, the Health Services Organization Act and other legislation.
EHIF has an administrative database that can be accessed by sending an email request for info@haigekassa.ee. The information included in the database is, among other things, of medical contacts (physician visit, hospital stay, etc.), including diagnostic tests, prescription medicine, medical devices, and treatment. The database is based on claims data from all Estonian healthcare providers that have signed a contract with EHIF and deliver EHIF-financed healthcare, which is almost all of them (2).
Registries
The National Institute for Health Development offers free access to the Health Statistics and Health Research Database, where information about new incident malignant neoplasms cases can be found going back to 1968, as well as other similar datasets. According to the Institute, “Reporting of cancer cases is compulsory to all physicians working in Estonia who diagnose or treat cancer. Data are submitted to the registry also by forensic pathologists-experts” (3). Cancer patients are followed up to their death or emigration, and the institute frequently compares their data with data from the North Estonia Medical Centre and Tartu University Hospital. Note that the datasets are grouped, so there is no specific information at the patient level.
Statistics Estonia offers a statistical database with multiple datasets that include data on malignant neoplasms. There are datasets not available in other registries, such as autopsy rates by sex and cause of death. The datasets are grouped, so there is no specific information at the patient level.
Electronic Health Records
Estonia's Electronic Health Records are created and managed by TEHIK, an Estonian organization founded for this purpose. TEHIK manages over 40 databases helping them provide e-services in the fields of health, social security, technology and labour, and are used by almost 1,3 million people.
