Benefits of Centralized e-Health System in Diabetes Care

Smokovski, Ivica

It is critical for developing countries to create national EHR systems. Interoperability of EHR systems at a national level is inadequate even in developed countries. Integration of EHR systems should include all national healthcare entities across all layers of healthcare, resulting in a centralized, National e-Health System (NeHS). Diabetes related information has to be part of the NeHS. The NeHS was introduced in the Republic of North Macedonia since 01-July-2013. Implementation of the NeHS has been praised internationally as a key platform for improving the performance of the national healthcare system. Introduction of NeHS provided the first opportunity for evaluation of prevalence of diagnosed diabetes cases, unlike the previous data based on extrapolations from other countries in the region. The NeHS could be used for monitoring of risk factors and development of diabetes complications. The NeHS has served as a human resources management tool by identifying the need of additional human resources in diabetes care. The NeHS was essential in discovering prescribers who were violating the guidelines, and played a crucial role in the rationalization of diabetes costs. Implementation of NeHS requires strong political leadership and support from the medical community.