Residents of Latvia follow the instructions of their doctors and have the tests prescribed by their GP or specialist carried out in a laboratory. A survey of people’s habits carried out by the Norstat research agency shows that 89% of the people surveyed have had tests prescribed by their general practitioner to check their general health or (with a referral) tests to check for a possible disease or the level of various substances (vitamins, minerals) in their body.

“Laboratory tests are undeniably an important step and a fast way to a diagnosis. Receiving the results of laboratory tests as soon as possible is often crucial for prompt diagnosing diseases that need immediate treatment. Around the world, it is the easy availability of laboratory tests that is one of the key elements of a successful healthcare model, enabling the early diagnosis of disease, thus saving both government spending on healthcare and the patient’s share of payment for health services. What is important is that the results of the survey show that the majority of the population surveyed have their tests taken at the laboratory on the instruction of their doctors. Most of the time, people come to us with a doctor’s referral, we immediately execute the order and inform the doctor and our client about the results”, says Jeļena Storoženko, Associate Professor at the Department of Infectology, Riga Stradiņš University, Council Member of “Centrālā laboratorija”.

At the same time, the survey data show that people value the availability of laboratory services close to where they live and work, as they use laboratory services when they are easily accessible without disrupting their daily routine. 58% of respondents indicated that they visit the nearest laboratory to their place of residence, with a further 26% indicating that they visit a laboratory while on their daily commute. A relatively large number of respondents also said that they do not care where a laboratory is located or what laboratory it is, and some are not even aware of what kind of laboratory they use – public or private. The most important thing is to be able to have these tests done to determine health status.

The majority of respondents (92%) said that affordability of laboratory services was important. 65% said it was even very important. This opinion was most prominent among those aged over 60.

A representative population survey was carried out in May 2024 across Latvia in cooperation with the Norstat research agency, with 1001 respondents aged between 18 and 74.

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“Centrālā laboratorija” provides a wide range of clinical diagnostic laboratory tests in more than 100 easily accessible locations throughout Latvia. The laboratory employs more than 700 people.

It is accredited according to the LVS EN ISO 15189:2013 standard for haematological, clinical, clinical chemistry, coagulation, immunohaematological, immunological, cytological, molecular biological, microbiological and histopathological examination of human material samples.