Digitization of the health system will enable better accessibility and quality of health services and reduce the administrative burden on doctors, said Minister of Health Vojislav Šimun.
At the presentation of the Draft National Strategy for the Development of Digital Health 2024-2028, he said that this document, together with the Draft Action Plan for 2024-2025, foresees a number of measures and initiatives that will make the Montenegrin health system more modern, efficient and accessible to citizens.
Reminding that one of the main priorities of the Government is the "digital transformation" of Montenegro, with a focus on improving the living conditions of all citizens, Šimun pointed out that the Strategy, among other things, supports the reform of primary health care.
According to him, through the introduction of a modern integrated information system, better accessibility and improvement of the quality of health services and reduction of administrative burdens on selected doctors will be enabled.
"In addition, in the field of pharmacy, the Strategy envisages the rationalization and control of drug consumption, given that one of the key goals of the Government is to ensure a stable and affordable health care system for all citizens," said Šimun.
As he added, these measures will enable, through better monitoring of consumption, to ensure more efficient planning and provision of essential medicines and reduce the possibility of shortages.
Šimun stated that the Strategy recognizes the importance of health workers as the foundation of the health system, so continuous training of health workers, as the most valuable resource, is set as a priority.
"Special emphasis is placed on the introduction of advanced technologies, such as telemedicine, mHealth and the application of artificial intelligence," said Šimun.
As he pointed out, these technologies will enable health care to become more accessible and efficient, especially in remote and less accessible parts of Montenegro.
Šimun emphasized that the Strategy also focuses on strengthening the system of collecting, storing, processing and using data for health purposes.
"This segment is crucial for the adoption of evidence-based policies, which is of crucial importance for building a modern and responsible healthcare system," explained Šimun.
State Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Aleksandar Sekulić, said that digitization of health care brings a number of opportunities, but also challenges, and that the goal of the Strategy is to, with careful planning and implementation, create the foundations for better health care, but also to respond to a number of problems that have been recognized in previous period.
Sekulić said that the new strategy recognizes challenges and offers concrete solutions through six key areas.
"The first area focuses on the collection, storage and exchange of data, the second deals with the improvement of existing information systems and e-services, while the third area includes the application of modern technologies, such as telemedicine, mobile health and artificial intelligence," said Sekulić.
According to him, the fourth area refers to the strengthening of capacities for the implementation and use of digital health policies, while the fifth area highlights the importance of digitization as a support for scientific and research activities.
Sekulić said that the sixth area deals with standards and target architecture for data exchange.
"As an umbrella body, the Ministry of Health has a key role in the implementation of this strategy, but the success of digitization of healthcare depends on a high level of cooperation between all entities, which includes state authorities, the civil sector, the private sector, universities and international partners," said Sekulić.
He stated that in the preparation of the Draft Strategy, in addition to public institutions and institutions in the field of health and the public sector, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Public Administration, the private sector, representatives of the association of private practice doctors, partner IT companies and the University of Montenegro were also involved.
General Director for Digital Health Dragana Janinović pointed out the challenges faced by the health system and pointed out the lack of adequately structured data, insufficient data exchange between different parts of the health system, and the obsolescence of current systems.
"Which often leads to "patients walking" between different institutions, spending doctors' time on administrative tasks, insufficient control and making policies and decisions based on incomplete data," said Janinović.
According to her, the system also faces a shortage of educated personnel in terms of digitization, both in terms of professional IT personnel, and in terms of the knowledge of medical personnel regarding the use of digital systems.
"Our task is to provide a system that will effectively solve the current problems of citizens, shorten the journey to the doctor, and at the same time be open to innovative solutions and in accordance with modern technologies," said Janinović.
As she added, the application of modern technologies, such as artificial intelligence, telemedicine and mHealth in medicine, are the fastest growing areas of digitization and robotics at the world level.
"The first steps we are taking are related to the establishment of a new IT architecture that will be able to support all existing processes and systems, enable the development of new systems and integrate modern solutions," said Janinović.
She said that one of the key projects they are working on is the development of the electronic health record (EHR), which, as she clarified, will unify all patient health data, including the services of private health institutions, and enable the complete exchange of data within the health system, in accordance with EU standards and full protection of data access rights.
Janinović also highlighted the development of the "Track and Trace" system, the goal of which is to monitor the flow of medicine from entry into Montenegro to the end user.
"This system aims to establish control over procurement, distribution, storage, prescribing and consumption of medicines," said Janinović.
As she added, in parallel with those demanding projects, which will represent the basis of a modern integral information health system, in cooperation with the Clinical Center of Montenegro and three general hospitals are already implementing a telemedicine pilot project.
"We are also working on creating a framework for efficient secondary use of data, primarily in order to support startups, scientific and innovative activities and the development of data-based decision-making systems," Janinović pointed out.
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