Last year, 35,851 foreign patients received medical services in Latvia. According to the Center for Disease Prevention and Control, this is a 25.9% decrease compared to the previous year. The largest group of medical tourists consisted of residents of the United States, with 3,843 individuals seeking treatment in Latvian clinics. Lithuania ranked second with 2,980 patients, while the United Kingdom came in third with 1,967 individuals. In addition to foreign citizens, compatriots living abroad also sought medical assistance in Latvia. Last year, 2,688 Latvians residing abroad utilized the services of Latvian medical institutions. A medical tourist is defined as a person who specifically travels to another country to receive medical care, paying for treatment either out of pocket or through insurance, rather than through the state budget of the country where the service is provided. The nearly quarter decrease in the number of patients indicates that the flow of medical tourists to Latvia has significantly diminished. Nevertheless, the country continues to receive tens of thousands of foreign patients annually. The published data reflects the overall dynamics of medical tourism; however, the reasons for the decline in the number of foreign patients are not provided in the statistics.
