17 May 2022 16:36

Workshop held on digitalization of healthcare system

On May 17, workshop held on the topic “E-Health Strategy and Claims Management System Development”. The workshop took place within Technical Assistance project on E-Health Strategy and Claims Management System Development in accordance with agreement signed between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and World Bank Group. The aim of the workshop is to submit recommendations as part of the World Bank project on “National Health Information Strategy of Azerbaijan for 2022-2026 and strengthening the claims managements system for improving digital data exchange.

In his opening speech, Zaur Aliyev, the Chairman of the Executive Board of the State Agency on Mandatory Health Insurance (Agency) said that as in all areas, the digitalization of health system is very important in the modern world: “Digitalization of health system may allow us to get more systematic results and provide more quality services to population. The accuracy and transparency of data play a major role in the decision-making process. That's why during the preparatory phase for the nationwide introduction of mandatory health Insurance we tried to achieve the digitalization of health system as wider as possible. For this purpose, outdoor cables were installed to bring Internet into the medical entities, and installation of indoor cabling was performed. Healthcare facilities were equipped with computer hardware. Registration in medical entities attached to TABIB is already carried out through unified platform,”– said Z.Aliyev.

The Chairman of the Executive Board noted that one of the components of the project is related to the improvement of the medical claims management system:

“By means of this system Agency receives electronic registers from hospitals and relevant payments are made. Of course, to improve the system that was newly established within short period of time many issues need to be reconsidered. I believe that the recommendations of the World Bank specialists will contribute to that end.”

Addressing the event, the Deputy Minister of Health Nadir Zeynalov said that digitalization of healthcare is one of the demands in the 21st Century.  

“Medical data includes both information about patients and financial issues. All of this combined makes up big data. In fact, data management and data exchange are the basis of health digitalization. One of the challenges refers to confidentiality and personal health data protection. Big data exchange with entities and countries puts the spotlight on such issues as sustainability and security, as well as cybercrime issues.”

Deputy Minister emphasized that it is essential to solve the issue in question: “A lot of work needs to be done to make it happen. Some of these works have already been carried out by the Ministry of Health and the Agency. Digitalization of health is a constant process. Because information technologies rapidly change, and the tools used for the digitization of healthcare are also improving every year.”

World Bank Country Manager for Azerbaijan Sarah Michael said that the health and human capital development is one of the priorities of World Bank not only in Azerbaijan but also around the world.

“Health and human capital development are also aligned with “Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities for Socio-Economic Development”. It focuses on issues such as strengthening the wellbeing of Azerbaijani citizens and inclusivity, increasing longevity and health lifestyle, competitive human capital formation. We are proud to cooperate with Ministry of Health, SAMHI, TABIB, and other state entities at the initiative of Azerbaijani government since last year.”

Afterwards the specialists of the World Bank made presentations. Experts presented the analysis findings on medical claims management system and options for improving digital data exchange in the healthcare system of Azerbaijan.

The seminar was attended by the employees of the Ministry of Health, Agency, and TABIB. Presentations were followed by panel discussions on key findings.

The mission led by Tania Dmytraczenko, World Bank Practice Manager on Health, Nutrition, and Population for Europe and Central Asia region is visiting Azerbaijan on May 16 - 23. During the visit, the mission will meet with the Ministry of Health, SAMHI, TABIB, and other stakeholders.

An exchange of views will be held on digital data exchange in the healthcare system, existing institutional arrangements related to eHealth rules, existing normative legal acts on collecting, storing, accessing, and sharing health data and draft project of the National Electronic Health Strategy.

The mission will also visit primary health care facilities and inpatient healthcare entities to learn at firsthand how payments to healthcare providers are made.

Experts are also expected to hold meetings at the Educational-Surgical Clinic of Azerbaijan Medical University and Emergency Medical Service Center to see how health data are processed.