Major Changes in Hospital Emergency Departments: Shorter Waits Expected as Nurses Gain More Responsibilities

Lithuania is implementing significant changes in its hospital emergency departments, aiming to streamline patient care and reduce waiting times. The reforms focus on empowering advanced practice nurses, allowing them to handle a greater portion of emergency medical services. This shift is expected to free up doctors to concentrate on more complex and life-threatening cases.

Health Vice Minister Skirmantas Krunkaitis stated that these adjustments will shorten the time to diagnosis and treatment for many patients. He estimates that up to one-tenth of emergency services could be provided by advanced practice nurses, who are becoming an integral part of the medical community in Lithuanian healthcare facilities. The Ministry of Health has initiated legislative changes to grant these nurses more autonomy in providing emergency services within stationary healthcare institutions and territorial emergency departments.

Funding for these services provided by nurses will come from the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund budget. The ministry also clarified the payment procedures for emergency services when laboratory or instrumental tests are not performed. The definition of an emergency care room has been updated, allowing services to be provided by either a medical doctor or an advanced practice nurse, depending on their competency.

Currently, 99 healthcare institutions across Lithuania provide stationary health care services, with 54 of them operating emergency departments. In 2025, these departments recorded 624,900 patient visits and provided 1.42 million services. Nearly one-fifth of these patients were admitted to the hospital, while the rest were treated as outpatients or transferred to other facilities. The reforms are designed to optimize this system further.

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These changes will shorten the time to diagnosis and further treatment for more than one patient. Preliminarily, it is estimated that up to one-tenth of emergency medical services can be provided by advanced practice nurses, who are gradually becoming an integral part of the medical community in our healthcare facilities.