Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev announced the launch of a key digitalisation project for healthcare — the Unified State Medical Information System (USMIS).
According to Zakon.kz, Madiyev stated that the system will enable the exchange of medical data and become the primary tool for integrating all medical organisations in the country.
“The flagship project of the digital transformation of the healthcare sector is the introduction of the Unified State Medical Information System, which will ensure electronic data exchange between 90% of medical organisations, enable 85% of citizens to use a personal health account, and extend telemedicine coverage to 70% of rural areas,” said the minister.
Madiyev also noted that projects using artificial intelligence are already being implemented in Kazakhstan, in particular:
- AI therapist — for automatically forming a preliminary diagnosis;
- AI agent for test results — to identify abnormalities in laboratory results;
- AI agent for monitoring medical services — to check the validity of prescriptions.
According to the minister, these solutions will improve the quality of diagnostics and reduce the workload on medical staff.
However, with all these technological ambitions, it is worth considering the real-world conditions. As is well known, the level of internet coverage and quality of communication in many rural areas of the country remain low.
In a number of settlements, schoolchildren still face difficulties with distance learning. In such conditions, the widespread introduction of telemedicine and AI services in remote villages seems challenging — without solving the underlying problem of internet access.