BMA and WHO Discussed the Development of E-health in Bulgaria

The President of the Bulgarian Medical Association, Dr. Nikolay Branzalov, held a meeting with representatives of the World Health Organization who are visiting Bulgaria regarding the evaluation of the National Health Information System (NHIS), the professional organization announced.

Stefania Davia from the WHO Regional Office for Europe also participated in the discussions. The meeting is part of a joint process between the WHO and the Ministry of Health to analyze national health data systems and their use in shaping health policies.

During the discussion, the development of e-health and digitalization processes in the sector were addressed. Dr. Branzalov presented the stages of implementing electronic services in the system, including general practitioners’ access to electronic health records, the inclusion of outpatient specialists, and the electronic ordering of laboratory tests.

The meeting topics also included remaining issues related to the regulatory framework and the need to eliminate some of the paper documents in the system.

The electronic sick leave certificate was cited as an example; despite being issued digitally, it still requires a paper copy for certain administrative purposes.

According to Dr. Branzalov, almost all medical documents now exist in electronic format, and the next steps involve expanding access to electronic health records for other medical specialists, as well as eliminating the remaining paper administrative forms.

The topic of more secure patient verification when using e-health services was also raised during the meeting. The BMA emphasized the need for legislative changes to support the development of e-health.

The professional organization described the meeting as a constructive dialogue and an exchange of best practices in the field of digitalization and health information management.