Brief Summary of the Smart Medicine

The challenge that exists today in front of the Project’s Partners is to reach the population with adequate health care services and to ensure their utilization. The problems can be summarized as: the remoteness of the place of supply of medical care (primary, specialized, hospital, emergency and urgent) for residents of small settlements distant from the municipal center; ensuring equal opportunities for access to health services to the people, including those living in smaller settlements far from urban centers; improving the quality of health services by developing the capacity medical staff; equipment of health facilities with new, more modern medical equipment. The overall objective of the project is: To invest in health infrastructure which contributes to regional and local development, reducing inequalities in terms of health status. The purpose of the Project is to improve the effectiveness of the primary health care system and indirectly manage to provide better health coverage to deprived communities shifting from the institutional to community-based services. As such it concentrates on actions that promote the quality and efficiency of primary care services. The main output is the development of Joint eHealth Data Base of the citizens of the two partnering areas as well as the establishment of a Practice for Telemedical Services and a Trans border team of specialsits (3 from each side) through the Pilots. There are, however, a number of longer term outputs that relate to the regulation and growth of telemedical services like: The benefits to people’s health; Associated cost savings for the partners as well as Environmental benefits through lower energy consumption. Outputs that need to be defined for the residents of the two partnering areas: Access to specialized health care services to remote areas; Access to expertise of Medical Specialists to a larger population without physical referral; Reduced visits to specialty hospitals for long term follow-up care for the aged and terminally ill patients. Outputs defined for the Physicians from the two partnering areas: Improved diagnosis and better treatment management; Access to computerized, comprehensive data of patients; Quick and timely follow-up of patients discharged after palliative care; Continuing education or training through video conferencing periodically. The project will also develop a sustainable Community-based primary health care (CBPHC) network which will help to progressively shift from the institutional to community-based services in order to decongest hospitals service volumes and increase overall health care capacity and responsiveness. This CBPHC network will cover the cross-border area of Drama, Evros and Haskovo. SMART_MED can benefit citizens, patients, health and care professionals but also health organizations and public authorities not only from the CB area but from everywhere in the world.