Information cooperation network to link health agencies of Braslav District and Latvia

The information cooperation network will link health workers of the cross-border regions of Latvia and Braslav District as part of the implementation of the Cross-Border Patient project, head of the project, representative of the Daugavpils Duma Olga Lukashevich said at a seminar in Braslav, BelTA has learnt.

The project to create conditions for affordable cross-border primary care on the territory of the Daugavpils Krai and the Braslav District is a part of the cross-border cooperation program Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus within the European Neighborhood Partnership Instrument. The project was launched in November 2011 with an aim to adapt the healthcare infrastructure of the Daugavpils Krai and the Braslav District Central Hospital to the national standards and provision of cross-border medical aid.

Only one Belarusian facility of primary care joined the cooperation network at a time when Latvia provided 11 such facilities for project. According to Head Doctor of the Braslav District Central Hospital Alexander Makarevich, under the Belarusian legislation only this hospital can provide first medical care to foreigners.

The budget of the project for the Belarusian participant is €245,000. Of them €221,000 are the EU funds. As for today a big part of events under the project has been implemented. There has been purchased necessary equipment, furniture. Working places have been fitted with automated programs. The hospital has received a local computer network. The final stage will include the improvement of the territory of the hospital and creation of the barrier-free environment.

The completion of the Cross-Border Patient project has been scheduled for December 2014. Further informatization of the hospital under the project will be continued either by the hospital itself or with the help of new projects and European grants. The work is necessary in order to get all the information on health workers and patients of the cross-border regions of the two countries into one electronic system.