How the Bulgarian National Health Information System Transforms the Work of Dental Specialists

The National Health Information System (Bulgarian Health Information System), is a digital platform created to collect, process and store medical data and information about the health of citizens in Bulgaria. It is part of the efforts to modernize and digitize the healthcare system in the country, and its main goal is to facilitate access to healthcare services and information for both medical professionals and citizens.

Why should dental professionals apply the Bulgarian HIS rules?

Ordinance No. H-6 of December 21, 2022, which regulates the functioning of the Bulgarian HIS, determines the type of information and the manner in which it will be provided from medical and health facilities to the system. This includes both the medical and non-medical professionals working in these facilities.

Medical facilities, according to the Law on medical facilities, are organizationally separate structures on a functional principle, in which doctors or dentist doctors independently or with the assistance of other medical and non-medical professionals carry out all or some of the following activities'.

For which activities should dental specialists send information to the Bulgarian HIS?

Dental professionals are required to submit information on all activities that create or use health information about patients or that are related to their health condition. This applies regardless of the health status of the patients and the source of financing of the relevant activity - be it from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF), the patients themselves or the insurance companies.

How will the information be sent to the Bulgarian HIS?

Every dental professional is required to generate an electronic health record for every activity performed related to the patient's health. This record is a standardized electronic document that must be sent to the Bulgarian HIS through specialized medical software.

One such software is Medentic. With it, data from dental examinations can not only be sent to Bulgarian HIS, but also medical notes, electronic prescriptions can be issued, as well as the entire history of the patient can be reviewed. This history includes information about allergies and other treatments performed, which greatly facilitates the work of dental professionals and improves the quality of medical care provided.

Since when do the provisions of the NIS come into force?

Ordinance No. H-6 enters into force on January 1, 2023. In § 4 of the transitional and final provisions of the Ordinance, a deadline is given until:

• January 1, 2024 to prepare HIS to generate electronic health records for all patient activities of dental professionals, as well as to incorporate information from registers, databases and systems maintained by the Ministry of Health.
• January 1, 2025 for the addition of electronic images from the results of imaging studies to the electronic health record.

Conclusion

The introduction of a mandatory transfer of information to the Bulgarian HIS represents an important step towards automation of administrative processes in dentistry. This can lead to improved organization and distribution of daily tasks, increased accountability and transparency, reduced medical errors, and timely access to patient medical data. In addition, adapting to these innovations supports the digitalization process in healthcare.