“ІТ technologies” – are modern electronic means of maintaining document flow based on computer hardware. They help define an optimal structure of a healthcare facility, properly organize a process for planning a budget and controlling its implementation, and help economize on money (up to 20%) and improve quality of provision of medical services.

 Introduction of new information technologies in the healthcare system will help maintain statistical data on population morbidity, provision of medical services, will help generate necessary reporting forms, will let optimize a working process, document flow and cut down the medical personnel’s time spent on working with medical and accounting documents.

Introducing information technologies in the project’s pilot regions.

Goal and tasks related to creation of a medical information system for pilot regions of Project “Ukraine healthcare financing and management ”

Goal – provide information support for the process of restructuring of the management system in the healthcare sector in the pilot regions

Tasks:

1. create a personified patient database on the basis of electronic document flow
2. support introduction of electronic medical documents which will reflect patient’s path in the course of his being provided with medical assistance;
3. support a system for assessment of costs of medical services;
4. support accounting of a medical facility;
5. create a common information environment for healthcare facilities/institutions (from the primary care level and to the Ministry of health of Ukraine)
6. analyze quality of medical services

Results/outcomes of introduction of information systems in the pilot regions over 9 months

1. Reengineering of the document flow system of regional healthcare departments, central rayon hospitals, oblast hospitals, and of Zhytomyr oblast medical consulting and diagnostics center.

2. There have been installed a local digital network, servers and computers in Popilnia and Zolochiv rayon healthcare departments, in central rayon hospitals, Zhytomir and Kharkiv oblast hospitals, in oblast informational-analytical centers, in Zhytomir oblast medical and consulting and diagnostics center, in healthcare departments in Zhytomir and Kharkiv oblast state administrations.

3. Individual/personified training was provided to all users in rayon healthcare departments, in central rayon hospitals, in healthcare departments of oblast state administrations, in oblast hospitals and informational-analytical centers, in Zhytomir oblast medical and consulting and diagnostics centers and in the Healthcare Ministry of Ukraine.

4. The system is implemented in:

• CRH - bookkeeping, pharmacy, statistics, ambulance, family doctor ambulatory
• Oblast hospitals – statistical departments of polyclinics, organizational and methodology departments

Benefits of physicians’ using ІТ systems:

Effective planning of work time

Fast retrieval of necessary data

Less time spent on making registration records during patient visits

Less time spent on generation of accounting forms

Less time spent on preparation of reporting documents

Better medical services for the population

More rational document flow

Managing patient information

A key element of software for managing patient data is the database on patients / working indicators, which stores all the data on all relevant events that concern different patients. A distributed patient database contains patients’ medical records. Such profiles will include concise data on diagnosis/releases of patients based on the agreed system of codes for diseases and other relevant clinical categories. It also generates patient’s major index for the sector and internal healthcare systems (laboratory, imaging).

The major function is registration of in-patient and outpatient patients, including patients’ identification data, data on visits, relocation and releases, medical records and volumes of services, which later may be linked to data on costs of services, when such data will become available.

The software for management of patient data makes it possible to carry out clinical control and provide an on-line access to patient data through regular workstations to analyze its use and for planning. It also meets the information needs of local and regional administrations in connection with medical and economic statistics and the system of health insurance.

The goal of the system is (since patient data is accessible for medical and nurse personnel) to make demographic and medical data accessible from a common database, so that personnel won’t have to retrieve and copy patient data from different sources. Besides, if diagnosis is entered directly by medical workers, it will improve accuracy of clinical history and of coding.

The program collects, updates and saves all necessary working parameters related to in-patient and outpatient patients for purposes of statistical analysis, preparation of invoices and cost assessment. During one clinical case different measures and transactions will be registered. Usually computers are installed in registration units, wards, ambulatory sections, polyclinics, and dispensaries, in economic and statistical departments.

IT system

Delivery of IT equipment to Popylnya and Zhytomyr

Within the Project realization, the IT equipment installation in Pilot regions was started. On 1-st of March the equipment was delivered to Popilnya region and on 4 –th of March to Zhytomyr.

Based on the objectives of the Project the IT system supports following functions:

• medical register of the rayon's population;
• maintenance of basic electronic medical documents from which patient's movements during the treatment process can be traced;
• health service cost calculation based on the service groups and their tariffs/prices;
• financial accounting of a healthcare facility;
• statistics on morbidities of population and provision and costs of health services.
• electronic transferring of statistical information to the general database and to appropriate administrative bodies.

Popylnya CRH received:

1 notebook and 6 PC for training room

4 PC for registration desk , 4 for Department of the statistic , 3 PC for accounts department , 2 PC for Rayon Healthcare Department , 8 printers, equipment for Internet (servers, modems, etc)

Popylnya Rayon State Administration received :

2 PC , 1 modem

Out-patients' clinics and medical attendant-obstetrical treatment ambulance stations of Popilnya region received: 10 PC , 10 printers

Zhitomir region al medical diagnostic centre:

6 PC for training room

7 PC for statistic department

4printers,

Equipment for Internet ( servers, modems, etc) , equipment for video conference

Oblast Healthcare Department received:

2 notebooks ,

3 PC for Financial Department

4 printers , equipment for Internet ( servers , modems , etc )

Zhytomyr Oblast Clinic Hospital received :

2 notebooks

10 PC for organization-methodological department

4 PC for registration desk

1 PC for in-patient registration desk

7 printers,

equipment for Internet ( servers , modems , etc )