Bashkiria healthcare goes digital - nine-year work results

Bashkiria is recognized by the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation and experts as one of the leaders in healthcare digitalization. The republic occupies a leading position among the constituent entities of Russia in federal funds allocated for this project. Over the past three years of its implementation, the volume of allocated subsidies amounted to 2.4 billion rubles. Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Health RB Maxim Zabelin, reported this at a briefing session in the government.

The process of large-scale digitalization of healthcare in the republic began in 2013. Then a single state information system for all medical organizations was introduced. Now 205 medical organizations of various forms of ownership and 124 pharmacies are connected to it.

The unified database of medical documents contains a vast amount of information and more than 4.5 million electronic medical records of residents.

The storage and processing of such data require the constant development of the system itself and the technical infrastructure. Here the Digital Profile project of the Healthcare national project plays a central role in 2019-2024.

For example, the Cardiovascular Risk Management Center conducts monitoring based on data from remotely sent ECGs (in 2021, 9,408 ECGs were received, in 2020 - 5,329 ECGs). As part of the regional program "Modernization of Primary Health Care", it is planned to equip medical organizations, including rural health stations, with digital ECG devices with the possibility of remote data transmission.

Comprehensive automation of preferential drug provision is carried out - unified registers of beneficiaries have been formed, the process of issuing electronic prescriptions has been automated. Pilot projects are implemented on an electronic paid prescription.

The Minister of Health noted that medical organizations are actively involved in the transition to electronic medical document management. Electronic sick leave certificates and medical and social examination referrals have been issued since March 1. Electronic birth and death certificates will be issued too. To date, more than 1 million documents have already been submitted for processing, including protocols of consultations, protocols of laboratory and diagnostic screens, epicrises, certificates, and conclusions.

Laboratory tasks are automated; research results are sent to the patient's personal account. "The number of laboratory tests performed in 2021 increased by 80 times compared to 2014 and amounted to more than 100 million tests. In the context of a pandemic, the population is informed about the results of PCR studies both in SMS messages and in the personal account of regional and federal portals. To date, about 2 million SMS have been sent with the results of COVID tests", Maxim Zabelin said.