Personal health records go mobile

The mobile application "eHealth" provides access to medical examinations, tests, prescriptions, referrals, immunizations reported in the National Health Information System. The app is free-of-charge and will soon be able to remind patients that it's time to take their medication.

The eHealth mobile app will soon be able to remind about planned hospital admissions The prescriptions and referrals in it have a special barcode that pharmacies and labs can scan without asking for personal ID number.

"When a document is created for you, be it an examination, prescription or referral, you will receive a notification. It's a good control mechanism," said Boris Kostadinov, director of software integration, Information Services.

The file includes mandatory immunizations and all medicines prescribed with electronic prescriptions.

"Every paper prescription, brought by the patient to the pharmacy, the respective pharmacist will enter the medication into the e-file of that patient and instantly that paper prescription becomes electronic," said Dr. Assen Medzhidiev, caretaker Minister of Health.

"This is simply not true. There has never been such an obligation. Nor any such rights. If a paper prescription is entered by the pharmacy, it is not clear what will be entered and who will be responsible for the entering of the data," said Nikolai Kostov, chairman of the Association of Pharmacy Owners.

"We are equal in our responsibility to the patient's medication therapy. And so we answer the question - should we enter what he has done in the patient's file," said Dr. Ivan Madjarov , chairman of the Bulgarian Medical Association.

Opening a personal health file through the mobile app requires a QR code. It must be scanned from the web version of the file, which is currently only accessible with an electronic signature.