Preconference exchange

We are excited to welcome you to the world of Estonian family medicine through our preconference exchange programme! Our system emphasises strong patient-doctor relationships and prioritises preventive care. Estonia has joint national health insurance, which enables it to provide healthcare of equal quality to all insured people. However, some individuals might have additional private health insurance, which is mainly provided by their employer. Different working forms are available for family doctors in Estonia: they can operate as self-employed entrepreneurs by establishing their own companies, work as regular employees in healthcare centres, or function as sole proprietors. However, the last option has become increasingly rare, as it is no longer economically viable and is gradually fading into history.

Through this exchange programme, participants will have the unique opportunity to shadow family doctors in various clinics around Tallinn and potentially in serene rural practices as well. All our host doctors will speak English with you, although most patients still speak Estonian. Suitable host practices will be arranged in partnership with the Estonian Society of Family Doctors.

Our goal is to introduce you to the Estonian primary healthcare system and, above all, give you a glimpse into the digital solutions that make our country famous.

Dates

The preconference exchange programme will take place from Tuesday, the 27th, to Thursday, the 29th of January, 2026.

Call open for the preconference exchange: May 1 – July 31, 2025

Estimated number of participants: 20-30

Key statistics regarding Estonian family medicine:

Number of family doctor patient lists: 787
Number of family nurses: 1958 (2.49 nurses per patient list)
Average patient list size: 1721 people
Average appointment time: 20-30 minutes
Number of health centres: 63
Number of family doctor patient lists in health centres: 370 (47% of all patient lists in Estonia)
Resident doctor’s gross salary: 3315,97 € per month