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Country’s healthcare system in a nutshell
Hungary’s healthcare system operates under a single health insurance fund that covers nearly all residents, although its . Its range of services is more limited compared to other EU European Union countries.
Since 2011, reforms have centralised the system, with the national government overseeing strategic direction, financing, regulations, and most specialist and inpatient care. The Ministry of Human Capacities manages the system through the National Healthcare Service Centre (ÁEEK), which coordinates care, plans hospitals, and oversees licensing. In 2012, the central government took control of local hospitals from county and municipal authorities, with ÁEEK managing these state-owned facilities.
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Healthcare delivery is predominantly hospital-based, with the national government directly managing hospitals and providing most inpatient and outpatient services, though some local governments still operate polyclinics . (World Health Organization, 2023)According to the most recent data from 2010, health .
Health insurance covered the entire population of Hungary, including both members of health insurance schemes and those with free access to state-provided healthcare services (Our World in Data, n.p.).
Public vs private
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The national PHR
History
The National eHealth Infrastructure and its specialised modules were established (through projects no. TIOP-2.3.2-12/1-2013-0001 and TIOP-2.3.1-13/1-2013-0001) under the Social Infrastructure Operating Programme, with support . Funding was from the European Union and co-funding by the Hungarian State. The total Total investment amounted to 4.87 billion Hungarian forints (approximately 13.15 million USD). Continuous development of the system is ensured through close cooperation between the Hungarian State and the European Union. For example, such as project no. 1.9.6 of the Human Resource Development Operating Programme , focused on establishing the Electronic Health Service and Data Integration System , known as (EESZT).
The core principle behind the system was to interconnect the EESZT interconnects previously fragmented healthcare data systems across the country and, drawing on international examples, collect . It collects all data into a central system. This would enable enables treatment locations to access the necessary information seamlessly. Another key objective was to provide modern centralised services, such as subsystems for issuing electronic prescriptions, electronic referrals, and medical documents, as well as the eProfile, promoting . These promote the widespread adoption of modern healthcare practices.
The use of the EESZT system usage has been mandatory since November 2017 for publicly funded healthcare providers and pharmacies. For nonNon-publicly funded providers , (including private practitioners required to ) must provide data to the central implant and prosthesis registries, and for the National Ambulance Service, it became mandatory from 1 since November 2018. Only data entered after joining the system is visible in the EESZT, as historical patient data has not yet been incorporated. Since 1 June 2020, private providers with valid operating licences, performing outpatient medical or dental activities, have also been required to report data to the EESZT . (EESZT, n.d.-a; EESZT, n.d.-b).
Historical patient data has not yet been incorporated, so only data entered after joining the system is visible.
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Features
The National eHealth Infrastructure (EESZT) is a centralised IT system designed to enable seamless communication between healthcare service providers in Hungary.
According to the EESZT official website, most Most hospitals in Hungary have their systems integrated with EESZT (EESZT official website). This integration ensures that automatically uploads nationally data added to patient records locally in a hospital's electronic health record (EHR) system is automatically uploaded to the national infrastructure. EESZT transfers each patient's health data to a central database, which authorised health . Authorised health professionals—such as hospital staff, general practitioners, or pharmacists—can access from EESZT through their respective systems. Access is role-based; for example, pharmacists can only view prescription information.
In addition to healthcare professionals, patients Patients can access their medical data through the EESZT citizen portal and a mobile app that is continuously being updated. The platform offers patients a wide range of features, allowing them to view. Features include seeing:
Prescriptions and dispensed medications, including medical aids.
Referrals for specialist consultations.
Health documents such as outpatient appointment reports and notes, admission, and discharge documents.
COVID-related data, including vaccination certificates, test results, and health certificates. Patients can also book COVID vaccinations.
Test results.
eProfile, which includes critical health information such as allergies, pregnancy status, and implants. This profile contains health data rarely subject to change, uploaded by the GP, and could be life-saving if accessed during emergency care.
Additionally, patients can access an Event Catalogue, which logs all instances when healthcare services were usedThe Event Catalogue shows the patient a log of all healthcare service usage, whether in outpatient or inpatient facilities or at family doctor services. The institutions providing care upload this information.
Patients can also monitor who has accessed their data, with general practitioners and treating clinicians having authorised access. They can further customise their settings to receive email notifications about specific EESZT events, controlling what data is displayed to physicians based on their permissions and preferences . ( EESZT, n.d.).
Challenges and areas for improvement
While the National eHealth Infrastructure (EESZT) has made significant strides in modernising healthcare data management, it still faces several limitations that hinder its full potential. Key areas for improvement include:
Limited Patient Input Capabilities: The platform currently allows patients to input only specific limited types of health measurements. However, they They are unable to manually add other essential medical data, such as allergies, detailed medical histories, or additional health documents (e.g. files or reports).
Lack of Direct Communication Between Patients and Professionals: EESZT does not allow direct communication between patients and healthcare professionals. This missing feature means that So patients cannot use the platform to consult or follow up with doctors.
No Device Integration: While patients can upload data extracts from manually enter data measured by external health devices (e.g., wearable fitness trackers), there is no direct integration between these devices and the EESZT system.
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The latest statistics are from the 19th of April 2021 and are available at https://web.archive.org/web/20210419151255/https://e-egeszsegugy.gov.hu/web/eeszt-information-portal/the-role-of-the-eeszt-in-hungarian-healthcare.
“Today, more than 26 thousand health professionals and 13 thousand pharmacy staff uses the system in Hungary. Starting from 2020, more than 22,000 institutions have access to the EESZT infrastructure, including private service providers.
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UGYFELKAPU which is the Citizen Portal for Hungarians
Electronic National ID
Citizen Portal+
via Phone
Face-to-face
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Carer functionality
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Patient history: documents by private professionals, GPs, hospitals, etc.
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e-Referrals
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e-Profile
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Prescriptions
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eGYSE
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~CodingsCodings
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Mobile application help page
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EESZT., n.d. The Role of the EESZT in Hungarian Healthcare. Available at: https://e-egeszsegugy.gov.hu/web/eeszt-information-portal/the-role-of-the-eeszt-in-hungarian-healthcare(accessed 13 September 2023).
EESZT., n.d. Citizen Portal - Main Page. Available at: https://www.eeszt.gov.hu/hu/nyito-oldal (accessed 13 September 2023).
EESZT., n.d. EESZT Information Portal - The History of EESZT. Available at: https://e-egeszsegugy.gov.hu/web/eeszt-information-portal/history-of-eeszt (accessed 13 September 2023).
World Health Organization, 2023. Hungary: Country Overview. (online) Available at: https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/countries/hungary (accessed 13 September 2023).
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