E-HEALTH SYSTEM – STATUS AND PERSPECTIVES
Journal Title: Българско списание за обществено здраве (Bulgarian Journal of Public Health) - Year 2011, Vol 0, Issue 1
Abstract
At the end of the 20th century and in the beginning of the 21st one electronic health (e-Health) has gradually become a term that was associated with the broad implementation of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the field of healthcare. Some authors make use of this term in order to define the utilization of digital technologies for the needs of clinical medicine, medical education and healthcare management. Other authors take into consideration its more narrow sense with regard to the Internet use in the medical practice. In the article an analysis was performed of more than 50 definitions for e-Health used in the scientific literature. In most part of the definitions the term e-Health was related to the delivery of medical services as nearly 25% of definitions have emphasized on the improvement of the ratio “expenditures – effectiveness” in the healthcare or on the increased effectiveness of the processes. Demographic processes in the European countries, growing migration and expectations for high quality and accessible health services within the European Union (EU) have faced the healthcare systems towards greater challenges. The initiative e-Europe was established in December 1999 by the European Commission and indicated the beginning of a powerful use of information technologies in the European health sector. This raises questions related to the legislative aspects in their usage in the medical practice and science. The achievement of semantic interoperability, standardization, certification and general EU requirements for the electronic patient records were considered in the article as key elements for gaining operative compatibility (interoperability) of information infrastructures and systems within the EU. These problems were the main topic of the first Action plan for a European e-Health Area. It outlined the steps for implementation of ICTs for the healthcare and boosted the use of broadband high speed Internet in the health systems. In the realization of the plan all Member-states adopted national strategies for e-Health. Many of them have integrated the national health portals, electronic patient records, electronic prescriptions and telemedical applications. Large-scale projects have been realized for the achievement of operative compatibility of the information technologies and systems. The portal of the EU Public Health appeared, too. After the adoption of the National strategy for electronic health in 2006 in Bulgaria the processes for implementation of ICT in the healthcare have also strengthened. A series of systems for telemedicine have been conducted as well as some pilot projects, including electronic health cards, electronic records, national health portal. Plenty of national registries were created and the integrated information system of the National Health Insurance Fund was also implemented.
Authors and Affiliations
Valeri Tzekov
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP485110
- DOI -
- Views 89
- Downloads 0
NATIONAL REPRESENTATIVE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY OF COMMON PSYCHIATRIC DISORDERS IN BULGARIA (2003-2007): TWELVEMONTH AND LIFETIME PREVALENCE, SEVERITY AND CO-MORBIDITY
Objectives: The aim of the current study is to provide epidemiological data for the annual (12 month) and lifetime prevalence, severity and co-morbidity in the following groups of common mental disorders in Bulgaria: An...
LEGAL ANALYSIS OF THE BULGARIAN LEGISLATION IN THE FIELD OF REGULATION OF PHARMACY PRACTICE FOR THE PERIOD 1903-2016
The purpose of this article is to track the legislative settlements in Bulgaria covering the regulation of the pharmaceutical market and the pharmacy services provided to the public. The main task for the authors is to i...
NATIONAL SURVEY ON NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF SCHOOL-CHILDREN IN BULGARIA IN 2011 - BACKGROUND, AIM AND OBJECTIVES, DESIGN AND METHODS OF INVESTIGATION
In recent decades, obesity in childhood is growing steadily in all countries and has become an epidemic and one of the priority public health problems. Overweight and obesity are associated with serious implications for...
LEGAL REGULATION OF THE USE OF MEDICINAL PLANTS IN BULGARIA
State policy in terms of protection, use and application of plants, influencing health, is conducted by various ministries (Ministry of Health, Ministry of Environment and Water, Ministry of Agriculture and Food), each m...
NON-CONVENTIONAL METHODS OF MEDICINE IN BULGARIA – PROBLEMS OF LEGISLATION
A review of the regulations in Bulgaria in the field of non-conventional methods for beneficial impact on individual health (NMBIIH) has been made: Health Act (HA) - Chapter 6, and Ordinance No 7 of 1 March 2005 on the R...