Signing of an agreement on ophthalmology in East Iceland

The arrangements of the service involve that ophthalmists will have reception in Egilsstaðir, five days at a time, five to seven times a year. Furthermore, they will provide telehealth services through telemedical equipment that the Healthcare Institution of East Iceland has recently purchased. The Healthcare Institution will also have a specially trained employee who will provide services to patients in connection with the use of the equipment on the site.

There is high hope for this new service, as there has been no service for eye doctors in East Iceland for some time. The eye doctors who have taken on the service have experience of similar services abroad, which has been successful.

Large and important milestone for healthcare in rural areas

“This is where we see Icelandic health policy implemented, where concrete efforts are being made to equalize access to healthcare for Icelanders regardless of residence, using contracts and technological solutions in the field of telehealth services. The contract with specialist doctors is an important part of this, which is intended to support the advancement of specialist doctors’ services, with emphasis on innovation and digital development,” says the Minister of Health, Willum Þór Þórsson. “This agreement can also serve as a model for specialist services throughout the country.

“This is a major and important step in healthcare in rural areas and guarantees access to eye care in their hometowns for residents in East Iceland. In recent years, the Icelandic Health Insurance has signed agreements to increase services in rural areas and we hope to increase them further,” says Sigurður Helgi Helgason, CEO of the Icelandic Health Insurance.

“At HSA we have felt a great lack of eye care in the area, so many people have had to travel a long distance to get eye care and unfortunately many people simply have not received any of that kind of service. Now we are seeing the end of that with this exciting project that has now started,” says Gudjón Hauksson, CEO of the Health Institute of East Iceland.