Kyiv, 22d of May 2019: the first electronic interaction in frames of the "Trembita" national online system came to life. "Trembita" is a tool for online governing, which allows global reengineering of the state administration processes, ensures optimization and transparency. The system performs data-exchange without human input, which lowers possible risks of errors and corruption. The first automatic data exchange route of "Trembita" was implemented between the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU) and the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control. This will allow conducting over a million inspections per month. Such electronic communication will allow implementing the Government reimbursement program "Affordable drugs" way more efficient. The Program provides full or partial reimbursement for medical drugs for patients with cardiovascular diseases, bronchial asthma and the type II diabetes by the fund of the state budget. The State Budget provides 1 billion hryvnias for this Program in 2019.
The implementation of E-Government/E-Government by country/Ukraine/State Agency for Electronic Governance, USAID/UK aid project "Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services/TAPAS", the Eurasia Foundation and Government departments mentioned above worked together on the project.
"NHSU manages the Government reimbursement program "Affordable drugs" since the 1st of April, 2019. Due to the Program, drug orders are now electronic. As for the 21st of May, we have given 2 million drug orders, 1,5mln of them were used in drugstores. We have paid over 45 million hryvnias to drugstores within the first month of work. All related processes are implemented in the electronic healthcare system. This allows transparent, rational, and controlled usage of the budget funds. Automatic data-exchange between us (NHSU) and the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control is a crucial part of the process." – explains Oleh Petrenko, the Head of NHSU.
Online communication between departments allows checking if drugstores have the right to receive a reimbursement from the State budget in frames of the Program. The subject of the inspection is the license to carry out activities associated with distributive medical drug trades. From now on the provision of a license is automatically checked three times by "Trembita":
1. When drugstores are registered and contracted by NHSU;
2. When medication orders are used in drugstores;
3. When drugstores send an online report for the provided medical drugs to receive reimbursement.
"Online data-exchange between NHSU and the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control simplifies the drugstores' licenses inspection. These inspections provide certainty that drugstores, which provide medical drugs in terms of the "Affordable drugs" program, have a valid license. Therefore, reimbursement is only received by those drugstores, which work on legal grounds." – adds Oleh Petrenko.
Let us recall, that "Trembita" is an electronic system for cooperation between public registers databases, which allows departments and public authorities to exchange the required information safely and quickly. Such a system improves the quality of interaction between the parties, as well as between them and representatives of publicity and business. Moreover, "Trembita" lets us provide people with services of higher quality (both offline and online).
According to Ihor Ryzhenko, the Head of the State Agency for Electronic Government of Ukraine, it is a crucial step for Ukraine: "The massive implementation of "Trembita" will start ineluctable changes in state departments' communication, as well as their interaction with business and the general public. Transparent and fast state processes are going to result in time saving and rational state funds distribution. It is also definitely more convenient for people. There will be no need to apply to one institution to receive a certificate needed to apply to another institution. "Trembita" will make the data run, not people."
We are also planning to launch online services shortly. It will be possible to receive a pharmaceutical manufacturing license, and selling and import licenses, which will guarantee the transparency towards drugstores participating in the "Affordable drugs" Program.
Research, powered by our project, focused on the development of state electronic systems, has shown that over 80% of personal data is still duplicated in state registries. This research shows that it is still inconvenient to receive services, as people would need to collect the same certificates multiple times for different state departments. Such a state of things means corruption risks and low state departments efficiency. Moreover, this also brings huge additional expenses: ci. Twenty-one million hryvnias covers the support of only one register; meanwhile, there are over 350 of them. Therefore the development of cooperation within "Trembita" was one of the most prior tasks for our partners and us". – said Petro Matiyashek, the Head of the USAID/UK aid project "Transparency and Accountability in Public Administration and Services/TAPAS".
For information:
(https://trembita.gov.ua/ua) Interoperability platform "Trembita" is a modern technical and organizational solution, which allows developing safe online communication between state departments and municipal authorities through an exchange of electronic messages between their information systems. "Trembita" is based on the improved version of an Estonian data-exchange platform X-ROAD, which is a basis for state online communication in Estonia. In December 2018, "Trembita" received an Expert confirmation from the State Service of Special Communication and Information Protection of Ukraine. According to the confirmation, all the components of "Trembita" satisfy the requirements of technical information protection. The confirmation led to starting cooperation establishment in the system.
"EGOV4UKRAINE" project of the "U-LEAD with Europe" program financed by EU and such countries-participants as Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Poland, and Switzerland helped with development and implementation of "Trembita". Members of the "EGOV4UKRAINE" provided consulting assistance with technical connection to "Trembita" and setting online communication."