ASTANA – All medical organisations in Kazakhstan will be provided with information systems by the end of 2018, said Vice Minister of Healthcare Alexei Tsoi. He said the Ministry of Healthcare is also working to complete digitalisation of healthcare organisations and their access to the internet, creating up-to-date mobile applications to reduce the number of queues.
“Government is going to equip 50 percent of healthcare organisations with information systems by the end of this year and 100 percent will be equipped by the end of 2018. This measure will allow switching to completely digital operation starting from Jan. 1, 2019. Today, only 45 percent of healthcare organisations in the country use computers,” said Tsoi.
According to him, there are three regions with extremely low coverage of medical information systems.
“This is the Zhambyl (15 percent), Kostanai (10 percent) and East Kazakhstan regions (7 percent). By the end of 2017, it is planned to introduce the information systems in all healthcare organisations of the following six regions: the South Kazakhstan, Akmola, Kyzylorda, Mangystau, North Kazakhstan and Kostanai regions. This will increase the coverage of information systems up to 64 percent in the country,” the vice minister said.
He also noted the level of computer implementation reached 74 percent across the medical facilities in the country and said low availability of computer equipment is observed in seven regions: the Kostanai, Aktobe, Almaty, Zhambyl, South Kazakhstan and East Kazakhstan regions.
Regional administrations and the Ministry of Healthcare have signed memorandums to update electronic equipment by 20 percent from the regional budget every year, Tsoi said.
In addition, until the end of 2018, the Ministry of Information and Communication and the regional administrations are going to introduce fibre-optic communication lines to hospitals in rural areas. According to the vice minister, only 53 percent of hospitals of the country have access to the internet now.
He also said the ministry is developing online health services and mobile applications. The applications will help patients having diseases such as arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus and chronic heart failure. Digitalisation is expected to reduce the number of queues to see a doctor.
