14 October 2022 11:00

A seminar was held on the development of e-health strategy and a medical claims management system

With the cooperation of the State Agency on Mandatory Health Insurance (Agency), the Administration of Regional Medical Divisions (TABIB), and the World Bank, a two-session information seminar was held titled "Provider payment system: Diagnostics and recommendations; options for legislative changes needed for e-health."

The seminar was organized within the framework of the Technical Assistance Project on the Development of the Electronic Health Strategy and Medical Claims Management System in accordance with the Government of Azerbaijan and the World Bank Group.

In his opening speech, Zaur Aliyev, Chairman of the Agency's Board of Directors, said that the topics discussed at the seminar were important for the development of healthcare. Z. Aliyev stated that the World Bank always supported the Agency with various projects:

"Much work has been done for electronization of the medical facilities supervised by TABIB. In hospitals, all patients are registered electronically. Citizens can access their account and get information about the medical services they receive online. The laboratories of about 50 medical facilities have become electronic. Despite the work done, there are fragmentations in the overall system. The creation of a common e-health platform in the country is being discussed. The integration of health facilities under the Ministry of Health, TABIB, other ministries, as well as private health facilities into this platform is being considered. I believe that the proposals and recommendations of the World Bank will be useful in this work."

In his speech, Nadir Zeynalov, Deputy Minister of Health, said that a solid legal framework should be created for the proper and lawful use of the large amount of medical data that will be obtained as a result of healthcare digitalization in Azerbaijan:

"There are many innovations within the framework of healthcare reforms carried out in our country. This covers the implementation of mandatory health insurance and digitalization of healthcare. The healthcare reforms are also aimed at establishing universal health coverage in our country. Universal health coverage is linked to the digitization of healthcare, the establishment of a solid legal framework, and a payment system for providers. The Ministry of Health is working on a single electronic platform for various health facilities in the country. The use of digital applications in healthcare involves the secure processing, exchange, and storage of relevant data. It will be very interesting to learn the opinions of international experts on this problem today."

Vugar Gurbanov, Executive Director of TABIB, said in his speech that it would be useful to discuss with interested parties the analytical support issues in the fields of healthcare system development, mandatory health insurance, medical services, and e-health:

"Health organizations of Azerbaijan have been cooperating with the World Bank for a long time. As a result of this cooperation, very effective work has been done. A coordinated action plan among healthcare institutions has already been defined in order to strengthen the mandatory health insurance system introduced in our country, increase citizen satisfaction, and ensure access to medical services. Studying international experiences and further improvement of a single electronic database is one of the main priorities of healthcare institutions. I am sure that the topics to be discussed during the seminar will contribute to the strengthening of the health sector."

Saida Bagirli, Acting Officer of the World Bank Representative Office in Azerbaijan, spoke about the importance of the issues discussed in the context of the technical assistance project implemented with the financial support of the Japanese government:

"I would like to thank all our colleagues, our partners in the government – the Ministry of Health, the Agency, TABIB, as well as WHO for their continuous work in the field of health development in Azerbaijan. The World Bank and Azerbaijan have a good history of cooperation in the field of health. Currently, the health projects in which the World Bank participates include issues such as digitalization, increasing access to universal medical services, and integration to global systems. We will thoroughly analyze the issues raised and discussions carried out today."

Next, experts from the World Bank made presentations. They drew attention to the results of the analysis on remuneration mechanisms for medical providers and the main difficulties in this field. The experts presented their recommendations and the best international practices for strengthening the mechanisms. The presentations also covered the necessary changes to be made to the legislation for the improvement of e-health in Azerbaijan.

The results of the analyses were discussed in the question-and-answer sessions held after the presentations.

It should be noted that, as part of the project, representatives of the World Bank also visited health facilities providing primary healthcare and inpatient medical services to see firsthand the existing mechanism of payments to medical providers. They also held meetings with the Ministry of Health, the Agency, TABIB, and other stakeholders.