The health information system of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)is one of the best in the region, and electronic medical record (eCard – eKarton), which works well in our country, is just being introduced in Croatia, while it is not even planned in other countries of the region.
Recently, the introduction of eCards in 25 hospitals in Croatia was promoted in the Croatian media, which, according to the public, is certainly very positive and necessary for Croatia. They predict that this service will reach other hospitals throughout Croatia next year. On the official website of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Europe, the countries that have implemented eCards are marked, and of all the countries in the region, BiH and Montenegro are the only “blue” ones. Other countries of the former Yugoslavia are marked in red, which means that they do not have a digitized health system in this form.
What is the situation in BiH?
Canton Sarajevo (CS) implemented the health eCard 9 years ago, more precisely during 2013-2014 at the level of all institutions. All health institutions are linked in a unique health eCard, which represents health forensic medical documentation of citizens of CS, but also of citizens from other cantons who are treated in CS.
During the CoVID19 pandemic, it was precisely the centralization and availability of health data that increased the need for comprehensive health computerization.
This is how the question arose after, unfortunately, the case of the girl from Kakanj who was operated on in a private practice about the ultimate informatization and the private health sector, which needs a value system and certification that can only be implemented through the ultimate informatization.
Besides the CS, the Health eCard has also been implemented by Tuzla Canton (TC), Zenica–Doboj Canton (ZDC) and Una-Sana Canton (USC), where health data are in one place, available by health vertical. The situation in Central Bosnia Canton (CBC) and Herzegovina-Neretva Canton (HNC) is also at an enviable level, but there is no centralization in the form of data exchange by the health vertical, but health institutions are computerized. In the other cantons, there is no central health eCard.
In the Republika Srpska (RS), the implementation of eCards has been in the process for the last 4-5 years with variable success, but it has not taken off. The tender for the establishment of a unique information system in healthcare in the RS was announced in 2017 when the system was acquired.
Finally, the question arises: do we know how to recognize the areas in which we are ahead of the region when it comes to the IT sector, or will we become a colony of inferiors in that area?
