2024
Ambulance in Kazakhstan due to lack of funds ceased to be round-the-clock
Ambulance in Kazakhstan due to lack of funds ceased to be round-the-clock. This became known in September 2024.
The country's Ministry of Health has changed the rules for the provision of emergency medical care. According to the new order, the ambulance will operate according to a new schedule: on weekdays from 8:00 to 18:00 and on Saturday from 8:00 to 12:00. This decision is due to insufficient funding for the ambulance service and the impossibility of maintaining round-the-clock teams.
According to Interfax, the ministry decided to revise the mode of operation of ambulance teams for patients with acute and chronic diseases of the fourth category of urgency. According to the draft order, calls received during the opening hours of primary health care (PHC) will be forwarded to mobile teams of health organizations providing PHC. This applies to calls that do not require immediate intervention, in the absence of a threat to the patient's life.
According to the Ministry of Health, the current (by September 2024) tariffs for ambulance services do not cover all the costs associated with its organization, which leads to payables from the service. In this regard, it was decided to limit the work of ambulance teams to the working hours of the PHC. This applies to the challenges of the fourth category of urgency, under which patients with exacerbation of chronic diseases or acute conditions without pronounced violations of organs and systems fall.
Thus, after the end of PHC working hours, patients with exacerbation of chronic diseases will be able to count only on contacting hospitals or other healthcare institutions operating around the clock. This can have an impact on the availability of health care for a significant number of citizens, especially in the evening and at night. The new ambulance operating procedure is expected to take effect in early 2025 after the completion of all procedures for discussing and approving the changes.[1]
The Government of Kazakhstan has identified an authorized organization in the field of digital health care
Kazakhstan It approved an organization that will be responsible for the development and management of digital health care in the country. According to a government decree of August 16, 2024, the Republican Center for Electronic Health under the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovation and Aerospace Industry of the Republic was determined by an authorized organization in this area. More. here
In the polyclinics of Kazakhstan, a facial recognition system of patients has been launched to combat postscripts in medical records
In early September 2024, a patient facial recognition system was launched in polyclinics in Kazakhstan to combat postscripts in medical records. The innovation is being introduced within the framework of a pilot project, which has already begun work on the basis of the republican polyclinic of primary health care in Astana.
According to Sputnik, the head of the Ministry of Health Akmaral Alnazarova said that the main tool to combat data fraud in the healthcare sector is digital technologies. As part of the pilot project, patients will be identified using Face ID technology and webcams. This system will ensure the exact recording of the actually provided medical services, which will exclude the possibility of forging visit reports and prevent the misuse of budget funds, as well as contributions from insured citizens.
InThe Ministry of Health plans to complete the pilot project by the end of 2024. From January 1, 2025, it is planned to scale this system throughout the republic. According to Alnazarova, the introduction of face recognition technology will become an effective tool that will completely eliminate postscripts in the medical field. The biometric identification system will also help to make the operation of medical institutions more transparent by increasing control over the distribution of funds in the industry.
As part of the fight against postscripts, the Ministry of Health has already identified about 46 thousand violations related to the falsification of reports on medical services. However, the fines imposed on organizations could not solve the problem at the systemic level, and violators often went unpunished. In this regard, the Ministry of Health plans to conduct a full audit of medical organizations that have been convicted of such violations and take tougher measures.[2]
2023: Ban on vape sales in Kazakhstan
At the end of July 2023, it became known about the introduction of a ban on vapes, liquids and flavors for them in Kazakhstan. Read more here.
2020
Kazakhstan will build a plant for the production of the Russian vaccine against COVID-19
On November 16, 2020, President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev announced that an enterprise for the production of a Russian vaccine against the coronavirus COVID-19 would be launched in the country. Read more here.