The Jubilees of Medical Informatics in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Izet Masic. Selim Toromanovic, Ahmed Novo, Haris Pandza, Zlatan Masic, Almir Dzananovic Medical Faculty, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina imasic@lol.ba Medical informatics as a separate scientific discipline began to be effective in academic institutions at the end of the 70's by the presentation of actual accomplishments in this area in under and postgraduate education at biomedical faculties. As a specialized discipline, health informatics has its rudiments in Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) in the beginning of the past century (20th), when experts, mostly graduates from the Vienna Medical Faculty, began their professional Careers in our country. Those who were more involved in the area of health statistics started to be intensely interested in the application of health technologies in health science (1,2). In 2007, the Health informatics profession in Bosnia and Herzegovina celebrates five jubilees: thirty years from the application of the first automatic medical data manipulation, twenty years from the development of Society for Medical Informtics B&H, fifteen years from the establishment of the Medical informatics journal „Acta Informatica Medica“, fifteen years on from the establishement of the Cathedra for Medical Informatics at Faculty of medicine University of Sarajevo and five years on from the introduction of the new educational method - „Distance learning“ in medical curriculum, based on Bologna declaration of medical teaching process. During last thirty years several activities in the area of health informatics had special importance and gave appropriate contributions to the development of health informatics in Bosnia And Herzegovina. The Society for Medical Informatics of Bosnia and Herzegovina gathered the most eminent experts, mostly medical doctors with various specialties. Society of Medical Informatics of B&H became a member of European Federation of Medical Informatics – EFMI during the war in 1994, and in the same year, a member of the International Medical Informatics Association – IMIA. In 2007 BHSMI become member of International Society for Telemedicine and eHealth.. Also, on EFMI Council meeting held in Athens, Greece, the Society for Medical Informatics of Bosnia and Herzegovina were given the opportunity to organize the 22 nd European Congress of Medical Informatics which will be held in Sarajevo in August teh 2009, a prestige event and merit to BiH experts in medical informatics. The main institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina when development of Medical informatics is in question are Cathedras for Medical informatics at biomedical Universities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Teaching staff performed a number of surveys analysing current levels among medical students and health professionals. Key activity of the B&H SMI will be to enhance efforts on reconstructing a high education system in the country in accordance with the Bologna process. There are two areas which the focus of activities needs to be directed: under and postgraduate education and continuous medical education (CME) for health workers, medical doctors as well as nurses (2,3). Developing perspectives of health informatics, besides further improvement of educational concepts and contents at biomedical faculties in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be in promoting its activities in two directions:
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a) Significantly larger involvement of health informatics experts in the development of health information systems, from the bottom to the top (state level), that is one of the basic objectives and goals of the deep reform and reconstruction health system in Bosnia and Herzegovina in general. Improvement of the existing and building of the computer based Integral health information system which is an inseparable part of the program for the reform and reconstruction health system within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and Brcko District, three separate and organized health systems in BiH, but each of which, in the future, must be based with emphasis on its adaptation to the goals of European regional strategy: “Health for all by 2015”. It must be pointed out that the reform and reconstruction of health system in Bosnia and Herzegovina cannot be realized without medical informatics which is an important vector in the forthcoming changes. It is not possible to follow the development of information technologies and information systems in neighbouring countries and wider in Europe without adopting an existing health statistics system and make it comparable with the mentioned systems. So, health informatics in the wider and medical informatics in the shorter meaning must be the object of strategy reconstruction of the existing health system in BiH and in accordance with strategy recommended by WHO. The truth is that actual problems in BiH health system are numerous (mostly methodological nature, informatics infrastructure is insufficient, it is obvious that medical staff has no appropriate training, lack of finance resources, etc.), general ones: problems in data collection and reporting, problems in data analysis, presentation of data and communication, problems in the use of health information, etc. To solve mentioned problems the engagement of decision makers at all levels of healthcare and especially those who were educated in the area of health informatics must be much larger. All the above activities with joint and interfering resolving could justify current state investments in the health sector and to improve population health and allowed fairness in the use of health resources, since the BiH health system can give quality outputs/outcomes only based on reliable and quality information from health information systems from local to state level. In this regard a more important role must have cantonal and entity ministries of health. b) Further promotion of BiH informatics at international level, understood continuation of continuous and successful preparation of appropriate political, scientific and professional structures and associations (governments, ministries, universities, faculties, NGOs) for the organization of the 22nd European Congress of Medical Informatics to be held in August 2009 in Sarajevo. It should especially be pointed out that the professionals and experts of health informatics in Bosnia and Herzegovina have given important contributions to the promotion of this medical discipline through several studies and projects, from the building and realization of information systems at certain levels of healthcare to introducing modern education models in biomedicine using contemporary information technologies. The authors of this article is eager to mark the importance of the above mentioned Anniversaries in the development of Health informatics in Bosnia and Herzegovina and have attempted, very briefly, to present the most significant events and persons with essential roles throughout this period. Key words: Medical informatics, History, Bosnia and Herzegovina REFERENCES
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1. Masic I, Novo A. History of Medical informatics in Bosnia and Herzegovina. AIM, 2007; 15(1): 49-61. 2. Dezelic G, Vuletic S. Edukacija zdravstvenih radnika iz informatike kao pretpostavka za razvoj zdravstvenih informacijskih sistema u nas. Mat Soc Med Iugoslavica, 1979; 2(1): 19-30. 3. Masic I. Education of medical informatics in Bosnia and Herzegovina. International Journal of Medical Informatics, Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd., 1998; (50),123: 95-101.
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