In the course of October-November 2017 the experts of eHealth project office organised and carried out 12 seminars encompassing all regions of Ukraine (except for temporary occupied territories).

The electronic healthcare system will start functioning in the primary link in 2018, but today it is necessary to prepare for work in the system, understand its basic principles and available functions in the test mode. The eHealth implementation is aimed at improving the quality of healthcare services. The system will become the basis for a new “money follows a patient” system of payments: the state will pay a certain amount for each patient who has concluded a special agreement, i.e. declaration, with a doctor. Patients will choose the doctor providing primary healthcare services. Thus, good doctors who actually effectively treat their patients will benefit from this – they will be able to receive fair and decent salary.

In order to start concluding declarations with patients, it is necessary to register healthcare institution and primary healthcare doctors – family doctors, physicians, pediatricians – within the eHealth system. This is what Svitlana Kotlyarevska, head of clarification and support direction of the eHealth project office, was explaining at the seminars. She was the main speaker describing the structure of the eHealth system, legislative regulation of its work, technical requirements and registration process.

Besides, a separate block of questions concerned the financial aspects of doctors’ work in the new conditions. Representatives of the Kharkiv expert group Mykhaylo Dovhopol and Olena Reshetnyak spoke about new principles of financing of the primary link and possible changes in managerial approaches. In addition, the seminars were attended by representatives of healthcare information systems that provide access to eHealth and are the first focal point with the system.

Therefore, 7 hours of the most current content, educational and promotional materials, opportunity to ask questions and hear a qualified answer – that is what the chief doctors from all over Ukraine acquired as the result of participation in the seminars. The most frequent questions concerned new rules for financing primary healthcare, conclusion and termination of declarations with patients, replacement of doctors on a sick leave and vacation, etc. The eHealth team also interacted with the local media interested in the practical issues and current state of electronic healthcare in the region.

In total, more than 1500 people attended the seminars, and the main result of the regional tour was a significant increase in the number of registrations in the eHealth system. Thus, as of 1 December 2017, 650 healthcare institutions, 3,800 doctors and 12,200 patient declarations were registered in the test mode. By the way, current statistics on registration in the system, answers to the most common questions, as well as presentations and materials of the regional tour are available on the eHealth portal: https://goo.gl/zrZSKo.

The regional tour was held with the support of the EDGE Project funded by the Canadian government and the U-LEAD with Europe Programme. The development of the eHealth system was initiated by civic organisations – the international anti-corruption organisation Transparency International Ukraine and the largest patient association in Ukraine – the All-Ukrainian Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS. The project was subsequently supported by the leadership of the Ministry of Health and international donors. Today, no budget hryvnia or credit funds have been spent on system development, it is ready to be transferred to the state, and the next regional seminars are scheduled for 2018.