Information technologies have been implemented in the organization of treatment at the Vitebsk Regional Center for Dermatovenereology and Cosmetology
Step by Step
The chief physician of the institution, Viktor Spiridonov, recalls that time. In the early 1990s, Vitebsk experienced a surge in a formidable disease like syphilis. The number of patients was many times greater than the capacity of the specialized hospital. The problem needed to be addressed quickly. A series of organizational measures were then adopted: the focus shifted to expanding outpatient observation, an anonymous office was opened to cover as many potential clients as possible without requiring personal identification. And in a Russian specialized journal, Viktor Efimovich read about the implementation of computer accounting in medical institutions. The first computer was purchased with extra-budgetary funds, and then more followed: departments were computerized one by one.
As usual, everything new is met with resistance. Initially, employees who had to use computers at work demanded hazard pay from the administration. But then everything fell into place. Over two decades, information technologies have become an integral part of the daily work of doctors and all services. The task set by the sectoral ministry for the informatization of healthcare institutions was completed ahead of schedule in 2017. The center operates 5 local area networks, and an automated control system department has been established, staffed by three specialists. The largest network is in the outpatient clinic department with 43 connection points and a dedicated server. In accordance with needs, the hospitals located in different parts of the city have been computerized: dermatological and mycological departments, venereal disease departments, the department for anonymous diagnosis of urogenital diseases, medical cosmetology, as well as laboratories, accounting, and other services. In the inpatient departments, electronic patient records are maintained with automatic generation of discharge summaries, which include
all diagnostic and laboratory tests. The epicrisis of patients from districts is also immediately sent to the medical institution that sent them to the regional hospital. And all this in one click.The organizational and methodological office has installed a program developed by the Ministry of Health for generating annual reports and maintaining statistical records of morbidity. So they can no longer imagine how they worked before without such a universal assistant and data keeper.
Telemedicine overcomes distances
With the introduction of information technologies, another innovation has become available to the center's patients. The telemedicine office has been operating here since 2005. This is an excellent opportunity for consulting patients from rural areas at a distance, which its leading specialists, as well as employees of the dermatology and venereology department of VSMU based here, have been doing successfully for a long time. To do this, it is enough to send a photo of the problem area or contact the medical institution via Skype. The attending district doctor of the patient can use the help of a colleague in difficult situations, and the person himself, who may not have yet consulted a doctor and is at home at the computer, can also send a request. After a telemedicine consultation, if necessary, he will definitely do so. The modern form of communication also helps to organize online training for district specialists on selected issues of dermatovenereology, and to minimize the costs of conducting various distance seminars.
No queues in the corridors
Anyone who visits the polyclinic department of the dermatovenereology center may get the impression that there are very few patients here: people are not crowding in queues to specialists, only a few people are sitting in the waiting rooms, watching preventive and informational videos on TV screens.
— And our system does not allow queues to form, — explained Evgenia Fedorovich, head of the outpatient polyclinic department. — The registry is automated, people sign up for a specific time via the Internet, by phone, or in person, and come at the appointed time.
time. An electronic version of the patient's outpatient record has been kept since 2009, and such a record will definitely not get lost. The program allows for dynamic monitoring of morbidity and medical examinations, keeping records of temporary disability certificates, referring to other specialists for consultations, for laboratory tests, maintaining outpatient appointment logs, searching for patients based on various criteria, and obtaining statistical reports. All workstations are included in a unified local network with data exchange capabilities.Daily information about dermatological patients is sent to the Data Processing Center, created on the basis of the regional diagnostic center, for viewing by specialists from other medical institutions in the region.
Simple, but informative
Since 2016, the institution's official website, vokcdk.by, has been updated, which contains all information on the treatment and prevention of venereal and skin diseases, the structure of the institution, the main directions of medical activity, news of public and trade union life, information on working with citizens' appeals, on the implementation of administrative procedures, and a price list for paid services. Also, on the website, you can make an appointment with a doctor, ask a question to a specialist or leave feedback, request an extract from the outpatient record, submit an electronic appeal, and familiarize yourself with answers to frequently asked questions. This set of information also contributes to the absence of queues and planned work. And a lot of money was not spent on the development of a simple but informative electronic resource by an external organization; they managed on their own.
Electronic prescription in your pocket
In May 2016, the dermatovenereological center launched a project, implemented jointly with the "Farmatsiya" enterprise, by installing prescription software. The program automatically updates directories of trade names of drugs, their dosages, and availability in pharmacies. The plastic cards with barcodes used are "linked" to patients' outpatient records. And now information about drugs prescribed by the doctor is entered into the electronic
the patient's prescription card right at the appointment. Saved as a barcode, the record is available to pharmacies in the Vitebsk region. By fixing it in the system, the attending physician will know if the medication was purchased by the patient.An Innovation in Tune with the Times
Recently, an electronic tablet has been installed near the reception desk in the polyclinic department, where any visitor can select the name of their attending physician and rate them after the appointment — "good," "satisfactory," or "poor." They can then specify this rating by choosing criteria: "for professionalism," "attentive, respectful attitude," "positive treatment outcomes," and others. Or they can mark the same with the particle "not." The program for the gadget was written by specialists from the ASU department. This method of evaluating doctors, according to Viktor Spiridonov, is another step in implementing information technologies, an innovation of the institution, and a convenient additional indicator of the quality of medical care provided. Patient opinions are taken into account when determining each doctor's bonus amount. And this is an additional incentive to work better and find common ground with patients.
Moreover, they do not keep "poor" doctor ratings a secret but actively discuss them at staff meetings, analyzing mistakes to avoid them in the future. So, the clear advantages of healthcare informatization help doctors feel like full-fledged professionals; it frees them from unnecessary paperwork and focuses all attention on the patient and objective analysis of the data obtained during the examination. And this data is always at hand, or rather, on the screen of a personal computer.
Vera MURASHKINA. Photo by Oleg KLIMOVICH. "Vitbichi."