It is known that in our country, within the framework of implementing the Head of State's instructions, systematic work is being carried out on digitalization and the introduction of artificial intelligence technologies in all spheres of public life and the economy.

In particular, the Ministry of Health is implementing digital solutions aimed at improving the accessibility and quality of medical care, reducing the administrative burden on healthcare workers, and enhancing sector management. These measures align with the priorities of the Digital Qazaqstan strategy and the objectives of the Year of Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, declared by the President.

It is worth noting that in Kazakhstan, the digital transformation of the healthcare system is yielding tangible benefits for both medical professionals and patients. According to the Ministry, since the beginning of the second half of 2025, the administrative burden on healthcare workers has decreased by 30–40 percent.

One of the key instruments has been the digital platform for healthcare resource management, which consolidates data on medical organizations, personnel, equipment, and infrastructure. Today, the unified digital ecosystem contains information on more than 21.3 thousand medical organizations, 275 thousand healthcare workers, and over 141 thousand units of medical equipment.

At the same time, the integration of the platform with state registries, personnel, and accounting systems has significantly reduced the volume of manual data entry. Each medical organization is assigned a kind of digital passport, which includes information on licenses, staff, departments, buildings, beds, equipment, and other resources. The data is automatically updated through interaction with state databases, electronic licensing systems, education, and labor relations records. This enhances its reliability and spares organizations from repeatedly submitting the same information.

On this basis, digital post-licensing monitoring is also being developed. The traditional approach, based primarily on on-site inspections, is gradually being supplemented by preventive oversight. The system automatically identifies potential risks by analyzing data on licenses, staff qualifications, personnel availability, and necessary equipment.

Pilot projects have already identified medical organizations that do not meet certain licensing requirements. Automated verification of qualification documents has also helped significantly reduce the number of specialists with expired certificates.

Thus, for the first time, a unified digital environment is being created that allows the assessment of healthcare resource status nationwide and enables data-driven decision-making in personnel, infrastructure, and equipment.

It should be emphasized that citizens are increasingly feeling the benefits of digitalization. In 2025, over 215 million public services were provided in the healthcare system, of which 190.8 million, or 88 percent, were delivered electronically.

Twelve types of medical certificates have been digitized, five of which are now issued exclusively online. Over the past year, more than 8.5 million electronic certificates were issued to citizens – 2.2 times more than the previous year.

In addition, another popular service has been online appointment scheduling with doctors. Over the year, 5.6 million people used this option, allowing them to book an appointment without visiting a registration desk.

It is worth noting that digital tools are also being used for more efficient patient distribution. For example, queue management has reduced waiting times for certain high-demand diagnostic tests. The waiting period for PET/CT scans decreased from three months to two weeks.

The next step will be the introduction of a unified doctor appointment schedule based on an online booking principle. Patients will be able to see available time slots and choose the most convenient time for their visit.

It is important to note that digital transformation is gradually extending beyond the automation of medical services and now encompasses direct monitoring of public health. Today, digital monitoring covers approximately seven million children and 4.3 million women. Analysis is conducted based on 80 critical indicators.

The pregnancy exchange record has also been digitized and is now accessible via eGov Mobile. In parallel, a system for dynamic patient monitoring is being developed: about 3.6 million people are already included in the digital ecosystem.

The "Digital Monitoring Card" allows doctors, regardless of region, to access information about a patient's hospitalizations, prescriptions, and issued medications. Certain digital tools help monitor the completion of preventive measures, screenings, and pre-pregnancy preparation.

Thus, the digital system now tracks not only the fact of receiving a medical service but also the patient's compliance with necessary follow-up stages. This changes the approach to prevention itself: instead of reacting to problems that have already arisen, the system is gradually moving toward anticipating them and managing risks. It also enables timely identification of women, pregnant patients, and children who require additional medical monitoring and allows necessary measures to be taken at earlier stages.

It should be emphasized that digitalization is gradually covering the entire pharmaceutical supply cycle – from needs planning and drug movement tracking to registration and dispensing to patients. New tools make the pharmaceutical market more transparent, help combat illegal drug trafficking, and improve the effectiveness of state control mechanisms.

One important innovation is personalized planning of medication needs. Calculations are now based on the actual needs of specific patients, rather than on average norms alone. The new system already covers about 2.1 million patients and 692 medical organizations.

In addition, digital traceability of pharmaceuticals is producing significant results. Special codes allow real-time tracking of drug movement, monitoring inventory, identifying suspicious transactions, and preventing improper write-offs. In 2025 alone, the system detected over 21 thousand units of illegally sold pharmaceutical products.

Another digital tool is the "Social Wallet" service, through which prescription drugs are dispensed electronically. Over the past year, more than 13.8 million digital prescriptions were issued to citizens through this service.

Digital technologies are also being introduced into pharmaceutical market regulation. Since September 2025, the registration of medicines and medical devices has been conducted under a "single-window" principle. As of August 4, 2026, 63 contracts have been signed under the accelerated drug review procedure, and 20 applications have been received. At the same time, manufacturer price registration is carried out electronically.

The composite service has significantly shortened registration timelines: whereas previously they could take up to two years, the standard period has now been reduced to 100 working days, and under the accelerated procedure, registration takes 15 working days.

Provisions also allow for the recognition of registration for drugs previously approved by regulators in the United States, the United Kingdom, EU countries, Switzerland, Canada, Japan, Australia, the Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. This avoids conducting a full reassessment of a medicinal product in Kazakhstan if it has already undergone the necessary regulatory procedures in one of these countries.

In 2026, the key processes of the sanitary-epidemiological service were transitioned to a unified digital ecosystem. It consolidates data on state control, supervised facilities, medical examinations, laboratory research, and vaccination.

Today, the system contains information on approximately 202 thousand state-controlled facilities. The number of registered users is about 198 thousand, of which approximately 114 thousand represent businesses and medical organizations.

It is worth noting that digitalization has significantly changed workflows. In the first half of 2026, the volume of electronically generated reporting increased by 47.7 percent, which reduced manual document processing by 23.8 percent. At the same time, the preparation of recommendations for business representatives, which previously could take up to two days, now takes about 15 minutes.

The system automatically identifies facilities with elevated risk levels, detects missing required permits, violations of mandatory medical examination deadlines, and other deviations. Business interaction with the sanitary-epidemiological service is also being transferred to a personal account, reducing the need for direct contact with state inspectors.

An electronic personal medical record is also available in digital format. Employers and sanitary-epidemiological control authorities can promptly verify the validity of medical examinations without paper documents.

As a result, sanitary-epidemiological control is becoming more efficient and preventive: digital tools allow for early risk identification, reduce manual workload, and transition government-business interaction to an electronic format.

It should be emphasized that digital solutions are also used to monitor the effective spending of healthcare funds, including resources from mandatory social health insurance.

The patient digital identification system has been implemented in 1,950 medical organizations. Nearly 73 percent of appointments are conducted using Face ID and electronic documents. According to the Ministry of Health, thanks to these mechanisms, unjustified medical services worth approximately 10.6 billion tenge were prevented in 2025.

An additional tool is the Unified Medical Care Payment System, which automatically verifies services submitted for payment, identifies discrepancies, and enhances the transparency of financial flows.

Thus, digital control is gradually being integrated directly into the process of delivering and paying for medical care. This allows not only for the detection of violations after the fact but also for preventing unjustified expenditures, promptly identifying questionable transactions, and directing public funds toward actually provided medical services.

It is important to note that the established digital infrastructure will serve as the foundation for the next phase of reform – the transition to the Unified State Medical Information System (USMIS).

The new platform is intended to integrate existing information systems, medical data, and core healthcare processes. It is planned to connect more than 1.9 thousand medical organizations, create a unified user interface for healthcare workers, and introduce an AI assistant.

For doctors, this means being able to work with the necessary data and services in a single digital space, without constantly switching between different systems and re-entering information.

For citizens, further development of the Densaulyk portal and mobile services is planned. These will expand access to essential medical services and information – such as doctor appointments, medical documents, prescriptions, and health data.

Overall, the digital transformation of healthcare is gradually moving beyond the automation of individual procedures. A unified, data-driven sector management system is being formed, encompassing medical organizations, personnel and equipment, medical service delivery, public health monitoring, pharmaceutical supply, sanitary-epidemiological control, patient identification, and financial transactions.

The next step will be to integrate these solutions into an end-to-end digital model that will guide the patient through the main stages — from prevention and doctor visits to diagnosis, treatment, medication access, financing, and quality control of medical care.

In the long term, this will reduce the number of disparate information systems and duplicate operations, lower the administrative burden on healthcare professionals, and improve the efficiency of sector management. For citizens, the result should be more convenient and consistent access to medical services, regardless of region or chosen medical organization.

Prepared by Arlan EMIR

Zanmedia.kz