ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF E-HEALTH IN BULGARIA AMONG MEDICAL SPECIALISTS FROM THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE CENTERS IN THE CONDITIONS OF A PANDEMIC

Authors

  • Kristina Kilova Faculty of Public Health, Medical University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Keywords:

medical specialists, e-health, emergency medical care, pandemic

Abstract

Introduction. Since March 2020 the health systems and public health authorities in Bulgaria have been operating in the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical specialists from emergency medical care centers are at the forefront of the fight against the infection. The introduction of e-health in these conditions is more urgent.
The aim of the present study is to examine the attitudes of medical professionals from emergency medical care centers towards the application of e-health in the conditions of a pandemic.
Material and methods. A direct anonymous survey was conducted among 80 medical specialists (47 (58.8%) men and 33 (41.2%) women) working in the centers for emergency medical care in Smolyan and the district. The mean age of the respondents was 52.18±5.38 years (Mean±SD). The survey was conducted in the period 1 October 2020 - 31 December 2020.
Results. Most of our respondents believed that e-health included an electronic patient file (n=75; 93.8%), a remote patient consultation (n=73; 91.3%) and an issuance of an electronic referral (n=72; 90.0%). They shared that they were not familiar with the Bulgarian legislation regarding e-health (n=56; 70.1%). The respondents stated that thanks to e-health, the work of emergency care in Bulgaria would improve. The main sources of up-to-date health information for them were specialized medical sites (n=56; 70.0%) and medical literature (n=55; 68.8%). According to our respondents, the fundamental goals of the e-health system in Bulgaria should be aimed at saving money, quality control, easier access to health care, health promotion, improving patient satisfaction and developing other health services.
Conclusion. The public emergency in which the world currently finds itself has shown the benefits of implementing e-health in all areas of health, including emergency medical care centers.

Author Biography

Kristina Kilova, Faculty of Public Health, Medical University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Department of Medical Informatics, Biostatistics and e-Learning

References

Атлиев, К. (2020). Организационни модели за спешна медицина – обзор. Научни трудове на Съюза на учените в България – Пловдив, серия Г. Медицина, фармация и дентална медицина, ХХІV, 274-278.

Атлиев, К., & Семерджиева М. (2020). Влиянието на някои фактори върху обслужването на пациентите в спешно отделение, Здравна политика и мениджмънт, (извънреден брой), 274-276.

Atliev. K., Bakova, D., & Semerdjieva, M. (2017). Triage systems in emergency care (review). Knowledge - International Journal, 19 (4), 1509-1514.

Eitel, D. R., Rudkin, S. E., Malvehy, M. A., Killeen, J. P., & Pines, J. M. (2010). Improving service quality by understanding emergency department flow: a White Paper and position statement prepared for the American Academy of Emergency Medicine. The Journal of emergency medicine, 38(1), 70–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2008.03.038

Guss, B., Mishkin, D., & Sharma, R. (2016). Using Telemedicine to Address Crowding in the ED. ED management: the monthly update on emergency department management, 28(11), 127–131.

Hwang, U., & Concato, J. (2004). Care in the emergency department: how crowded is overcrowded?. Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, 11(10), 1097–1101. https://doi.org/10.1197/j.aem.2004.07.004

Jen, M., Goubert, R., Toohey, S., Zuabi, N., & Wray, A. (2021). Triage physicians in an academic emergency department: Impact on resident education. AEM education and training, 5(3), e10567. https://doi.org/10.1002/aet2.10567

Oest, S., Swanson, M. B., Ahmed, A., & Mohr, N. M. (2020). Perceptions and Perceived Utility of Rural Emergency Department Telemedicine Services: A Needs Assessment. Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association, 26(7), 855–864. https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2019.0168

Sechrist, E., Dong, F., Lee, C., Chon, K., Neeki, A., Winston, L., et al. (2020). Patients' Perception of Telemedicine in a Large Urban Inner-City Emergency Department: A Cross-Sectional Survey. Cureus, 12(10), e11091. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.11091

Yaneva, A. (2016). From data to meaningful knowledge – data mining in healthcare. Knowledge - International Journal, 12 (2), 285-289.

Yaneva, A. & Mateva, N. (2017). Effect assessment of a cognitive training platform in healthy older adults, CBU International Conference Proceedings, 5, 1032-1035.

Downloads

Published

2021-10-07

How to Cite

Kilova, K. (2021). ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF E-HEALTH IN BULGARIA AMONG MEDICAL SPECIALISTS FROM THE EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE CENTERS IN THE CONDITIONS OF A PANDEMIC. KNOWLEDGE - International Journal , 48(3), 589–594. Retrieved from https://ikm.mk/ojs/index.php/kij/article/view/4783

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 3 > >>