Prevention Programmes

Five disease prevention programmes covered from the Compulsory Health Insurance Fund are carried out in Lithuania – preventive programme of cervical cancer, preventive programme of breast cancer, preventive programme of prostate cancer, preventive programme of colon cancer, and preventive programme of cardiovascular diseases.

In order to get checked up according to the preventive programmes, the person should refer to the general practitioner who assesses the health condition and, if necessary, prescribes tests and refers to a specialist doctor. The persons who have compulsory health insurance may take part in the preventive programmes free of charge if they refer to the medical institution that has a contract with the territorial health insurance fund. Then the patients do not have to pay neither for tests nor for doctor’s work or used materials.

The preventive programmes are intended for the patients of certain age. However, if the person feels unwell yet is not within the certain age group, that person should refer to the general practitioner without delay. The GP will perform the necessary tests and, if necessary, refer the person for consultation to a specialist doctor.

For more information (in Lithuanian), click here.

Preventive programmes carried out in Lithuania

Preventive programme	Carried out since	Intended for	Programme’s tools
Programme financing early cervical cancer diagnosis	July 2004	25-59-year-old (inclusive) women	Women, aged 25-34 (inclusive), have a cervical cytology smear every 3 years. Women, aged 35-59 (inclusive) have a high-risk cervical papillomavirus (HR HPV) test and a liquid-based cervical cytological smear (if the HR HPV test is positive) every 5 years. Smear results may be followed by a biopsy to objectively confirm or rule out the diagnosis.
Programme financing selective mammography regarding breast cancer	October 2005	45-74-year-old (inclusive) women	Mammography is performed once in 2 years. Upon receipt of the general practitioner’s referral, it is possible to make advance registration (on arrival or by phone) in the medical institution that has a mammographic device. The examination results are notified by the general practitioner who receives them from the institution evaluating the mammograms.
Programme financing early diagnostics of colon cancer	July 2009	50-74-year-old (inclusive) men and women	Occult blood test is performed once in 2 years. If the test’s answer is negative, the patient is healthy, if positive – the general practitioner issues the referral to the specialist doctor. Colonoscopy and, if necessary, biopsy, allow confirming or disproving the diagnosis of colon cancer objectively.
Programme financing early diagnostics of prostate	January 2006	50-69-year-old (inclusive) men and men over 45 if their fathers or brothers had had prostate cancer	The blood test is performed periodically in order to determine the concentration of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in blood. If PSA amount exceeds the norm, the general practitioner issues the referral to urologist, who performs prostate biopsy, if needed.
Programme financing selection and prevention tools for persons within the high-risk group of cardiovascular diseases	December 2005	40-60-year-old (inclusive) men and women	Periodically, the family doctor identifies risk factors and, if necessary, draws up an individual cardiovascular disease prevention plan. If the doctor determines that the likelihood of cardiovascular disease is very high, he or she sends the patient to specialised centres for a more detailed examination and, if necessary, for treatment. It is important to know that periodic free blood glucose, cholesterol, triglyceride levels, electrocardiograms and other tests can be carried out to determine which cardiovascular disease group the patient will be classified as having.

Last updated: 06-01-2025