Belarusian healthcare facilities will be connected to a unified healthcare information system by 2021, as reported to BelTA by Deputy Minister of Health Vyacheslav Shilo, discussing the sector's informatisation plans.
At the current stage, a more global task is being set – the informatisation of the sector, aimed at uniting all healthcare institutions, noted Vyacheslav Shilo. The creation of a unified information environment is planned, which will include an integrated electronic patient card, an automated physician's workstation, and a personal patient's online account. The task is to establish interaction with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and other government bodies.
Based on the results of working with information product suppliers, it is intended to obtain a centralised healthcare information system (platform) for exchanging medical data and developing new centralised e-health services by the end of 2018 – early 2019. In 2019-2021, it is planned to connect all institutions to this platform and form a unified database on patient health status.
The unified information environment is expected to unite all medical centres and pharmacy chains, including those of non-state ownership. This will enable healthcare institutions to exchange the results of diagnostic studies. This will primarily benefit the patient, as they will not have to undergo previously conducted examinations. The unified database will allow the attending physician to have complete information about the patient, thus enabling them to make more prompt decisions in critical moments.
Telemedicine opens up great opportunities, allowing for remote consultations, including for determining the need for hospitalisation. Such interaction is already partially established between republican and regional healthcare institutions, and central district hospitals. For example, the Minsk City Oncology Dispensary and the Republican Scientific and Practical Centre for Radiation Medicine and Human Ecology in Gomel are consulting on morphological studies related to thyroid pathology. This cooperation will be expanded. According to the Deputy Minister, clear standards need to be developed to eliminate inaccuracies in these areas. From a legal point of view, this is a rather complex issue.