Telemedicine and inter-district specialized centers. How healthcare in the Orsha district will develop in 2019
The experiment, which the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee and the Orsha District Executive Committee, under the patronage of the Ministry of Economy of Belarus, will carry out throughout 2019, will affect all key sectors – housing and communal services, healthcare, education, culture, communications, social services, trade, public catering and consumer services, physical culture and sports.
In the region's healthcare, the standard for ensuring access to telemedicine services must be met 100%.
With the help of a mobile diagnostic complex, it is planned to improve the diagnostic examination of rural residents in order to detect diseases at early stages.
About the quality of medical care in the region, the equipment of healthcare institutions with modern equipment and personnel, and further prospects – a conversation with Chief Physician of the Orsha Central Polyclinic Alexey Korotkiy.
– Alexey Vasilyevich, what does the healthcare system of Orshanshchina represent today?
– It is about 50 institutions and 3 thousand employees serving over 156 thousand people. The sector has received a second wind today thanks to the close attention of the state. The construction of new facilities, equipping with modern equipment, people's comfort – the region can already be proud of all this.
– The modernized Semashko City Hospital No. 1 can now rightfully be called a major inter-district center, equipped with the latest technology, serving the population not only of Orsha but also of Tolochin and Dubroven districts.
– The clinic's new medical building was commissioned in early 2018 by order of the President. New, including high-tech, examination and treatment methods continue to be implemented here.
In the current year, approximately 136 coronarographies, 3 balloon angioplasties, and 55 coronary artery stenting procedures have already been performed in the angiographic room. Modern operations for abdominal diseases, including the removal of stones from the bile ducts, have been mastered in the surgical department. Knee arthroscopy has been introduced in traumatology. 16 surgical interventions have been performed in 3 months.
As for urology, we have also made progress here – minimally invasive surgical interventions for bladder and prostate diseases, contact lithotripsy of urinary tract stones, etc., have been mastered.
Hip joint replacement surgery is also performed at the hospital – we eliminated a waiting list of thirty Orsha residents in one month.
In the ophthalmology department, a surgical system for cataract removal with intraocular lens implantation has been put into operation. 5 operations have already been performed with the participation of regional specialists.
In January of this year, an inter-district center for patients with multiple sclerosis was opened at the neurology department, and in March, an inter-district center for planned, minimally invasive, and endoscopic surgery was established.
A new mammograph was recently received and will be installed at Polyclinic No. 2, and in September, the new 64-slice computed tomography scanner will be available in the medical building of Semashko City Hospital No. 1.
– Orsha medics were among the first in the country to master digital medicine. Instead of paper prescriptions and charts, there are electronic documents, and each ambulance doctor has a tablet with the patient's medical history. Tell us about this innovation.
– The work on the use of modern information and communication technologies continues. Last year, 144 computers were purchased. Through the Ministry of Health of Belarus, 40 computers were received for the informatization of City Hospital No. 1 named after Semashko. The program of the Vitebsk Regional Diagnostic Center is being used.
A telemedicine consultation room has been organized for interaction with the republican consultation system.
Testing of a medical information system for information exchange has begun.
3 computers and 14 tablets are integrated into a unified data collection and exchange network. Electronic prescriptions and electronic outpatient cards are used in Polyclinics No. 1, 2, 4, Children's Polyclinic No. 2, dispensaries, and district hospitals.
Since the beginning of the year, more than 7,000 plastic medical service cards for patients have been issued, and about 4,000 electronic prescriptions have been written. Recently, another 15,000 plastic cards were received, and the technical specification for the creation of a local area network in Polyclinic No. 3 is under consideration.
– New technologies, modern equipment – this is, of course, good. But without professional staff, effective healthcare is out of the question. How are you addressing this issue?
– Indeed, the state of human resources determines the effectiveness of healthcare, including the quality and accessibility of medical care provided to the population. 420 doctors work in the district's healthcare system, including 62 young specialists.
It is noteworthy that 11 doctors under the age of 35 hold positions as heads of structural units of the institution. This year, 21 doctors will arrive in the district, and next year – another 54 doctors, including narrow specialists. And in order for them to stay here and feel confident, in accordance with Decree of the President No. 506, a 40-apartment rental building for medical workers will be commissioned in Andreevshchina by the end of the current year.