DOI: https://doi.org/10.25040/medicallaw2016.02.011
Med. pravo., 2016; 2(18): 11-17
UDС: 342.951
candidate of legal sciences, associate professor of the Department of administrative law, procedure and administrative activity of the Dnipropetrovks State University of Internal Affairs
To the Concept and Importance of «e-Health» in the Public Administration of Health Sphere in Ukraine
Article is devoted to the concept and importance of «e-Health» in the public administration of health sphere in Ukraine. It is noted that Ukraine’s course toward integration into the European Union requires a thorough upgrade of relations between the state and the person. Similarly, human rights and freedoms and their guarantees determine the content and direction of the state. Among other things, considerable attention needs proper functioning of the public administration, the widespread introduction of information technologies, the possibility of remote access to administrative services and more.
A manifestation of trends serves as a renewal of national legislation and the continued optimization of central executive bodies. In our opinion, along with the general transformation processes each of the social life areas has special algorithms of action in approximation to European Union standards. Of course, one of the most important and those that need a system innovation is health care sphere in Ukraine.
State policy in the Ukraine regarding informatization of the health system and the introduction of new information technologies aimed at eliminating the backlog in this area of leading world countries and accelerate entry into the information field of the international community in order to raise health management practice of medicine, medical education and science on the highest level.
The growing role of electronic governance (e-governance) and implementation of information technology necessitated further research in the said direction of improving the public administration of health sphere in Ukraine. We believe that the development of «e-Health» is one of the most promising ways of implementing modern information technology.
Following the task, first of all, we must define the notion of value «e-Health» with related concepts. Today, in the scientific and regulatory areas such terms as «e-government», «e-medicine», «telemedicine» and «e-Health» are simultaneously used. In our opinion, «e-government» is a model of public administration, aimed at meeting the needs of individuals and entities through the use of information and communication technologies by public administration. Should be noted that «e-governance» applies to all spheres of public life, where healthcare is a separate object of his action.
According to the Strategy of information society development in Ukraine, «e-medicine» should ensure cooperation between patients, health workers and institutions using information and communication technologies.
The main activities in the area of «e-medicine» is the introduction of automated information systems industry, which, in particular, make it possible to access the maintenance of medical records in electronic form; development of telemedicine; improvement of monitoring system health; creation and implementation of new computer technologies disease prevention, diagnosis, provide treatment processes; creation of public electronic health resources. «Telemedicine» is attributed to one of directions of «e-medicine» in Ukraine that excludes identity to use these concepts.
The term «e-Health» covers both a «telemedicine» and «e-medicine» that cannot use as synonymous. Thus, in the broadest sense «e-Health» defines as the combined use of information and communication technologies aimed at the proper needs of the population in the health sphere, and public health in the country.
The second task we have set the value «E-health» in the public administration of health sphere in Ukraine. The core functionality of e-Health is to support the financial aspects of healthcare and ensure treatment providers are paid, and patients are only spending what they are due to spend according to their insurance. Additionally, electronic health Records, e-Prescriptions, telemedicine, and other new applications, are under development in order to improve the quality of care while reducing the cost of delivering healthcare services (by White paper Ingenico. E-health in Europe).
Electronic health (e-health) initiatives that apply information technology to the delivery of healthcare services for patients and management of clinical information are an essential weapon in the battle against the rising costs and other systemic problems in healthcare. For all their promise, however, the introduction of such initiatives has been a slow and arduous process in many healthcare systems (by Bartlett Chris, Boehncke Klaus, Johnstone-Burt Andrew, Wallace Vanessa. Optimising e-Health value. Using an investment model to build a foundation for program success).
Vincenzo Della Mea thinks that «e-Health» presents itself as a common name for all such technological fields of health care sphere. Telemedicine remains linked to medical professionals, while e-health is driven by non-professionals, namely patients (or, in the e-health jargon, consumers) that with their interests drive new services even in the healthcare field-mostly for their empowerment through access to information and knowledge. Author even calls «e-Health» a death of «telemedicine».
R. Richardson paid attention that «e-Health» will help: reduce duplication of expensive healthcare facilities (hospitals, etc) within member states; lead to a more coherent and ubiquitous delivery system for healthcare services throughout the European Union; provide proper monitoring and regulation of increased migration of healthcare workers within the European Union; greatly improve efficiency when patients cross national boundaries to seek treatment in other European Union member States; enable European Union medical facilities and services to be made available to other countries, which have links to Europe, either through culture, history or common language.
Pay attention that the «e-Health» in the public administration of health sphere playing an increasingly significant role, due to the development of information and communication technologies and the spread of the use of digital media for educational, clinical, medical and organizational purposes.
Despite the widespread use of the term «e-Health» in the member states of the European Union, this term fragmentary used in the national scientific and legislation areas. We believe that in the context of the association between Ukraine and European Union, neglect commonly used terminology is a significant disadvantage.
In the public administration of health sphere in Ukraine «e-Health» has a clear focus on human’s right, because improving the quality of care and easy access to medical services. In Ukraine the economic efficiency of «e-Health» possibilities is too obvious, although costly in its implementation. We believe that comprehensive health care reform in Ukraine should take place with the borrowing of advanced European experience and «e-Health» technology innovations. In the future it will integrate the national health system in the single European medical space, and therefore properly to ensure everyone’s health rights.
Key words: public administration, «e-Health», information and communication technologies, health sphere system, reforming.
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