Adviser to the Minister of Health Rufat Hajialibeyov: Digitization of the healthcare field will be gradually expanded in Azerbaijan, and new technologies aimed at improving the quality of medical services to citizens and employees of this field will be applied.

Interview of the health minister's adviser on future plans in the field of digitization

- Mr. Rufat, first of all, we would like to know about the future plans of the Ministry of Health of Azerbaijan regarding digitalization and application of technologies...

- First of all, I would like to emphasize that the digitization of healthcare is one of the priority directions of the state and was mentioned by President Ilham Aliyev as a factor influencing the improvement of the quality of life of citizens, as well as the improvement of the socio-economic situation of the country. For this purpose, in accordance with the relevant decree of the head of state, the "Healthcare Transformation Center" working group was established. At the same time, the documents "Overview of digital health care" and "National Strategy for digital health care for 2024-2028" were prepared. Despite a number of initiatives implemented thanks to the digitalization of healthcare, the need for the wide application and increase in the spectrum of information and communication technologies for the diagnosis of diseases and the provision of quality medical services in this area is further strengthened.
The digitalization strategy of health care is a fundamental technological approach that ensures the improvement of the quality of services provided by medical personnel as a result of entering data into a centralized information space in the decision-making process on a single platform. The basis of this platform is the citizen's electronic profile. An electronic profile summarizes information covering the entire life cycle of people, accessible in real time to health professionals. This is the main tool for the collection of information about the current state of health of citizens, further analysis, including retrospective indicators. This will play an important role for a more perfect analysis of the history of diseases, their accurate diagnosis, as well as for the improvement of applied treatment methods. This data will also be the basis for multidisciplinary health analysis of citizens across the country, decision support and real-time field strategic planning.

- What changes will the digitalization process result in the healthcare sector? What are the key benefits it offers to patients, healthcare providers and the entire healthcare ecosystem?

- First of all, it is necessary to know that our attention is focused on protecting citizens' health, and the entire healthcare ecosystem, including its participants, must respond to this challenge. Digitization of healthcare will eliminate bureaucracy and subjectivism in the system, increase the accessibility and quality of medical services provided to citizens regardless of their geography, as well as ensure their individualization through electronic services that are intended to be involved in their formation and evaluation. Digitization should ensure a continuous and reliable exchange of medical information between healthcare entities, which will form a new approach to the management of healthcare and treatment methods based on the information obtained.
Strategic planning, implementation and monitoring in the public health sector will provide additional economic impetus due to increased capacity for preparedness for crisis situations (e.g. pandemics), as well as increased transparency of health care. The field of health insurance will also be able to increase its efficiency and financial stability by applying objective approaches to the health of citizens. This will allow the development and implementation of new economic models of medical insurance. We can continue to enumerate the list of benefits of digitization of healthcare, but all of them are united by a single goal - to take care of the health of citizens!

- Which foreign model of digital healthcare can be accepted as a benchmark for our country? Do you plan to apply international experience in the field of healthcare in Azerbaijan?

- We have conducted extensive monitoring in the direction of studying and investigating the digital healthcare models of a number of developed countries. As a result, there is no unique model to apply without retransformation. This is the current state of digitalization, which must be integrated into a single digital landscape, taking into account the specificity of healthcare, legislative and administrative features, the level of training of healthcare workers, as well as the requirements of national regulators in digitalization and data protection. Therefore, taking into account the international experience, including mistakes made in the field of digitalization, it was decided to introduce a digital healthcare model related to the current level of readiness for digital changes and its significant growth in the following years in the "National Digital Health Strategy for 2024-2028" . Systematic digitization of the healthcare sector is a strategic approach aimed at solving problems in this area and applying technological solutions to maximize benefits, while gradually involving all interested parties.

- What will help to become a trigger to accelerate the implementation of digital medical services nationwide?

- The human factor always plays the role of the main trigger. Innovative approaches depend on the discovery of the benefits of digitization of healthcare processes and their systematic application in the sector as a whole. According to international experience, such initiatives are based on the personal will of the heads of state and government, taking into account large-scale national challenges. Another important issue is the digital literacy of health workers, for which the strategy has considered scenarios for pre- and post-graduate refresher courses. The use of uniform mutual digital medical activity standards, the development of regulations applicable to digital healthcare, the synergy that unites the participants of the healthcare segment and third-party government agencies should significantly accelerate the process of digitization of the healthcare sector.
In the digitalization process, the economic effect is also considered an important factor, which allows to optimize healthcare costs and achieve transparency in the subjects in the field. Involvement of the private technology sector through a public-private partnership model can also accelerate the implementation of the tasks due to the high level of professionalism of their specialists, the availability of relevant technological expertise and flexibility.
In general, government support in a comprehensive form, the existence of a well-thought-out plan for the implementation of a digital health project, and ensuring the involvement of all parties can be a strong impetus to accelerate the process of implementation of digital health services in the country.

- Telemedicine is actively used in healthcare in developed countries. We would like to know about your plans for using this technology. How can these technologies help solve health care delivery challenges in rural areas or regions with insufficient infrastructure?

- The location of medical centers in big cities, as well as in regional centers, forces citizens from remote regions, which in some cases do not have sufficient infrastructure, to travel long distances and spend additional money to receive medical services. This leads to overcrowding in clinics, long queues and uncontrolled spread of infectious diseases. Also, a part of the population in the regions does not apply for medical services due to the above-mentioned difficulties. This subsequently results in aggravation of illness and disability, and at the same time creates an additional burden on the budget of insurers and the state.
A significant part of questions related to the explanations of diagnoses or tests that patients turn to the doctor can be solved visually using telemedicine services. The application of telemedicine will allow citizens to save time and costs for visiting a doctor, reduce the burden of referrals to medical institutions, provide access to doctors with the necessary specialty in remote regions, and ensure constant monitoring of chronic diseases, including the elderly and disabled, without involving inpatient treatment. Timely diagnosis of diseases and their treatment will prevent the possibility of development of medical pathologies and disabilities. This will lead to significant financial savings by the state, as well as an increase in the quality of life of citizens.
Within the framework of the initiative, the Ministry of Health has implemented a pilot project, the results of which will be comprehensively analyzed in order to determine the next steps for the application of telemedicine in the health sector.

- Electronic prescriptions (prescriptions for medicines in electronic form) are used more and more. What are the benefits of e-prescribing and how can it improve medication management?

- E-Prescription system provides electronic registration of prescriptions given to citizens in medical institutions of Azerbaijan. This will eliminate the illegibility or misinterpretation of prescriptions, allow you to see the history of previously prescribed drugs, prevent unwanted inconsistencies between drugs, indicate accurate doses, as well as match diagnoses based on the International Classification of Diseases. This, in turn, will make it possible to adapt the missed diagnoses to the international classification and further analysis of citizens' health.
The updated register of medicinal products will be the basis for macro-analysis at the country level. So, there will be full information about the availability and demand of medicines, the doctors who prescribed the medicines to whom and for what diagnosis. This will also create an additional economic effect as a result of strengthening the control over operations in the field of drug sales, including prevention of the spread of fake products. According to the relevant Decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Health has been instructed to implement the electronic prescription system by the end of this year.

- Digital citizen profile replaces traditional paper records. What are the main advantages of this technology and how will it improve the health care of citizens?

- The citizen's digital profile is a key component of health data collection from the moment of registration of pregnancy to the moment of death. This will allow to keep the electronic history of the citizen's health during the entire life cycle, the history of his visits to medical institutions, including the results and images of examinations, vaccinations, prescriptions, epicrisis and all health characteristics. This, in turn, will make it possible to systematize and analyze the collected data. Based on the obtained data, doctors will be able to get complete information about the citizen's current health, which will allow to prescribe more accurate diagnosis and treatment of diseases, improve the quality of medical services, as well as significantly reduce daily and financial costs for both citizens and the state. Also, these data will make it possible to correctly predict the health status of the population at the country level and make adjustments in the formation of the future health strategy.
Citizens' expectations should also be taken into account. As citizens become more technologically savvy and learn about digital services in other areas, they will demand the same convenience and accessibility in the healthcare sector. Meeting patient expectations can be a driving force for healthcare providers to embrace digital healthcare.