site.btaMinister of e-Government, Head of Bulgarian Medical Association Discuss Digital Exchange of Health Documents

At a joint meeting between the Minister of e-Government Valentin Mundrov and the Chair of Bulgarian Medical Association (BMA) Dr Nikolay Branzalov, the two agreed that upgrading the electronic exchange of healthcare documents and preventive control of their issuance is a key element for improving the efficiency, security and accessibility of healthcare services, the Health Ministry press service reported on Tuesday.

Mundrov said that patients should be the focus of all policies, because it is patients that exercise the best control. He and Branzalov stated their readiness to hold a joint meeting between the Ministry of e-Government, the BMA, Information Services, the Ministry of Health, the National Health Insurance Fund, and patient organizations, in order to maximize patient access to the services provided.

The meeting highlighted the benefits of the eZdrave [eHealth] application, where people can access information about registered examinations, referrals, vaccines, hospitalizations, laboratory test results, etc. "We will try harder to promote the application, because it grants patients improved accessibility and greater control over their health information and services anytime and from anywhere. Currently, there are more than 120,000 users of the app," the Minister said.

Some 1.2 million white prescriptions (for medications that are not sedatives and are not strong painkillers) have been issued through the eRx application, according to data from the National Health Information System. Healthcare providers and veterinarians use the application to issue some 2,800 prescriptions daily.