The audit of the functionality and use of electronic health care was a continuation of the previous audit "Information Systems for the Provision of Healthcare", performed by the SAO SR in 2015. The result was a saving of more than EUR 53.7 mil thanks to the introduction of access to eHealth using ID cards with an electronic chip instead of the Ministry's original plan to introduce a new electronic card for the insured.

The deployment of the project, including the environment to ensure its real use, was planned for 2011. In fact, the eHealth project was completed at the end of December 2015, but some parts of the environment in which the project was realistically usable were not completed by that date. As a result, the project was functional according to the handover protocols, but unusable.

By the end of the audit, a total of EUR 123.3 mil was spent on the project. According to the original assumptions, by the end of 2018, it was to generate benefits for citizens and healthcare for EUR 803.9 mil at a cost of EUR 119.17 mil. The health and economic benefits quantified were to summarise the benefits, from savings on prescription medicines to improved healthcare, to time saved for the patient, who did not have to spend waiting in a medical facility. By the end of 2021, further expenditures of EUR 56.4 mil are expected. According to the original projects, the expected health and economic benefits should reach EUR 1.363 bn by the end of 2021.

The full deployment and use of the eHealth project by the system operator, healthcare providers and policyholders has been determined in law since January 2018. In 2018, the system was actually partially deployed. Deployment in 2018 was associated with technical problems, so the deadline for full deployment was postponed to January 2019 without sanctions. Due to the delayed implementation of the project, the delayed deployment and the possibility of its use, the eHealth project could not generate the expected benefits in time, quantity or quality.

The extension of the implementation time and changes in the solutions also led to an increase in project expenditures. As of the date of audit completion in 2018, the eHealth was in routine operation, but the implementation process for full functionality has not yet been completed. Sufficient use of the system by healthcare providers and healthcare professionals has also not been achieved. The use of eHealth by policyholders was alarmingly low despite its possibilities.

The full text of the press release about this topic in Slovak language is available here. Use the Google icon in the top bar for automatic translation into the desired language.