The introduction of an electronic health system (EHS) in medical facilities, regardless of their type of ownership, stimulates the development of healthcare in Ukraine and allows for efficient use of financial resources, according to participants in a roundtable talk held at the Interfax-Ukraine press center on Thursday.
At the same time, Oleksandra Mashkevych, Head of the Medical Directorate of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, emphasized the obligation to connect medical facilities to the electronic health system.
“Connecting to the EHS is one of the conditions for working in the modern world. If you are not connected to the EHS, then you actually drop out of the process, you don’t know how your country lives,” she said.
Mashkevych said that as of the beginning of the year, the EHS had more than 500 million electronic medical records created by doctors, more than 36.6 million e-prescriptions issued to patients for drugs under the Affordable Medicines program, and over 90 million electronic referrals, prescribed by primary and specialized care physicians.
“Every day the system is filled with almost 3 million medical records, tens of thousands of prescriptions, referrals, medical findings,” the expert stated.
At the same time, she recalled that from 2022, all medical facilities engaged in medical practice, regardless of their form of ownership, will work in the electronic health system.
“Soon all healthcare institutions in Ukraine will maintain medical records in an electronic database and registers. This is necessary to continue the changes that we started back in 2017, when we launched the healthcare reform,” Mashkevych explained.
In turn, Head of the Consultative and Diagnostic Center of Dniprovsky district of Kyiv Daniel Karabayev said that the effective work of the medical facility was largely ensured by the effectiveness of a medical information system (MIS).
“Thanks to cooperation with the medical information system Medstar, we have experience in creating an electronic management system for a medical facility. And today, our doctors do not just enter relevant information about patients, but have modern analytics, recent information, opportunities and leverage to influence certain processes,” he said.
An effective MIS that automates analytics makes it possible to effectively manage a medical institution, generate resources for its development and increase salaries for medical and non-medical personnel, Karabayev emphasized.
In turn, Olena Ambarna, Director General of the municipal non-profit enterprise Polyclinic Association of Kropyvnytsky City Council, which is also connected to the MIS Medstar, noted the advantages of working with the EHS.
“Our MIS allows us to compare the load on each doctor, which allows us to influence the process of treating patients. Considering the structure of our medical institution, I am able, thanks to the system, to move doctors from one institution to another. This would not be possible if I did not have a system, thanks to which this can be done easily without leaving the office,” Ambarna said.
According to her, thanks to the MIS used, the medical institution can effectively plan and calculate the work of both individual employees and the entire clinic, and contract for the most popular packages of medical services under the Medical Guarantee Program (MGP).
It was also noted that the Consultative and Diagnostic Center of Dniprovsky district of Kyiv and the Polyclinic Association of Kropyvnytsky City Council used the Medstar medical information system in their work with the EHS, which, among other things, allowed them to enter the top five in the rating of “leaders” of interaction with the National Health Service of Ukraine (NHSU).
In turn, the head of the subcommittee on health issues of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on National Health, Medical Assistance and Medical Insurance, Maksym Perebiynis, believes that the EHS will help control not only the quantity, but also the quality of medical services.
“There is still no full-fledged mechanism for monitoring the provision of medical services. It is the connection of medical institutions of any type of ownership to the EHS that is a very important detail. Some clinics are used to working in their own closed system, but we must understand that people should receive a high-quality transparent service,” Perebiynis believes.
He also stressed that Ukraine would maintain a strategic direction for reforming the healthcare system and the formation of a single medical space.
Ukraine’s GDP growth in 2021, according to preliminary estimates, will amount to 3.2%, which won’t compensate for the 4% economic decline in 2020, head of the Council of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) Bohdan Danylyshyn has said.
The World Bank has lowered its forecast for Ukraine’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2022 to 3.2%, and in 2023 to 3.5%, while in October last year it expected it to increase accordingly by 3.5% and 3.7%.
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has downgraded its estimate of the growth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022 from 3.8% to 3.4%, in 2021 – to 3% from 3.1%.
The deficit of Ukraine’s foreign trade in goods in January-November 2021 fell by 13.2% compared to January-November 2020, to $3.607 billion from $4.158 billion, the State Statistics Service of Ukraine reported.
The growth of consumer prices in Ukraine in 2021 accelerated to 10% from 5% in 2020 and 4.1% in 2019.
Inflation in the raw food group of goods in 2022 may range from 10% to 20%, which will lead to an inflationary jump to 8-10% and, in turn, will require anti-crisis measures, adviser to the Ukrainian president Oleh Ustenko has said.
The deficit of the general fund of the state budget of Ukraine in 2021 amounted to UAH 166.8 billion, while the plan was UAH 220.9 billion, and in December the deficit of the general fund was UAH 109.1 billion, the Ministry of Finance reported with reference to the operational data of the State Treasury Service of Ukraine.
The total state debt of Ukraine in December grew by 4.04% in U.S. dollars to $97.95 billion, in hryvnias by 4.43%, to UAH 2.671 trillion, according to data on the website of the Ministry of Finance, released on Wednesday.
Industrial production in Ukraine grew by 1.1% in 2021, while a 5.2% decline was recorded in 2020.
Ukraine in January-November 2021 sold industrial products (goods, services) worth UAH 3.185 trillion, which is 44.2% more than in January-November 2020 (UAH 2.209 trillion), including outside the country in the amount of UAH 920.471 billion.
Real wages in Ukraine in December 2021 increased by 11.9% compared to December 2020, and compared to November 2021, the growth was 21.5%.
The volume of construction work performed in Ukraine in 2021 increased by 5.1% compared to 2020, while the growth rate in 2020 compared to 2019, according to updated data, was 5.6%.
The transport enterprises of Ukraine in 2021 increased transportation of goods by 3.3% compared to 2020 – up to 619.9 million tonnes.
Since the beginning of the 2021/2022 marketing year (MY, July-June) and as of January 21, Ukraine has exported 36.08 million tonnes of grain and leguminous crops, which is 27.6% more than the figures for the same date of the previous marketing year.
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Sales of meat for slaughter in Ukraine (in live weight) in January of this year decreased by 1.5% compared to January 2021, to 307,300 tonnes, milk production – by 1.5%, to 522,100 tonnes, and eggs – by 8.1%, to 934.6 million pieces.
According to the website of the State Statistics Service, as of February 1, 2022, the total number of poultry in Ukraine increased by 0.7% compared to the same date last year, to 193.9 million birds. The number of pigs decreased by 3.4%, to 5.56 million animals, cattle – by 6.5%, to 2.7 million animals (including the number of cows – by 6.6%, to 1 .55 million animals), and sheep and goats – by 3.3%, to 1.09 million animals.
As of the indicated date, the number of cattle and pigs in the households of the population decreased the most – to 1.7 million animals of cattle (9.7% less versus February 1, 2021) and 1.92 million pigs (7.5% less). At the same time, by February 1, 2022, the country recorded an increase in the number of poultry at agricultural enterprises by 2.9%, to 110.9 million birds, and sheep and goats – by 8%, to 165,000 animals.
The population of cows at agricultural enterprises also increased by 0.2%, to 423,700 animals, while the total number of cattle decreased by 0.5%, to 1 million animals.
Sales of poultry for slaughter by agricultural enterprises in January 2022 increased by 3.8% compared to January a year earlier, to 56.96 million birds, sheep and goats – by 60.2%, to 3,700 animals, while sales of pigs decreased by 10.5%, to 0.35 million animals, and cattle – by 0.4%, to 23,100 animals.
Sales of eggs by agricultural enterprises for the specified period decreased by 12.3%, to 570,000 pieces, while the households reduced their sales by 1.4%, to 360,900 pieces.
The State Statistics Service specified that in January of this year, Kyiv region became the leader in production of eggs – 241.1 million eggs (9.3% less compared to January 2021), Khmelnytsky region – 68.6 million pieces (5.2% more), Dnipropetrovsk region – 56.1 million pieces (9.7% less) and Cherkasy region – 52.1 million pieces (13.7% less).
According to the statistics service, in January of this year, Ukrainian agricultural enterprises increased milk production by 6.9% compared to January last year, to 243,300 tonnes, while its production by households decreased by 7.8%, to 278,800 tonnes.
Most milk was produced in Poltava region – 50,900 tonnes (0.2% less), Vinnytsia region – 45,100 tonnes (7.8% less), Khmelnytsky – 40,000 tonnes (2.8% more), as well as Kharkiv and Cherkasy regions – by 34,000 tonnes (more by 2.1% and 2.7% respectively).
Over 2021, mobile operator Lifecell LLC (lifecell) received a net profit of UAH 610.9 million, which is 4.24 times less than in 2020 (UAH 2.589 billion), according to the company’s financial statements.
At the same time, the operator’s income in 2021 increased by 24.1%, to UAH 8.483 billion.
EBITDA increased by 30.9%, to UAH 4.751 billion, while EBITDA margin increased by 2.9 percentage points (p.p.), to 56%.
Lifecell’s capital investments in 2021 increased by 3.2%, to UAH 3.594 billion.
According to the information provided, in the fourth quarter of 2021, the operator’s income increased by 25.7%, to UAH 2.406 billion. EBITDA in the October-December quarter increased by 26.5%, to UAH 1.319 billion.
On an annual basis, the operator’s active three-month subscriber base in 2021 expanded by 13.6%, to 9.2 million (compared to 8.1 million in 2020).
The active three-month 4.5G subscriber base in 2021 grew 32% year-on-year to 73% of total mobile data users at the end of the year. Average data consumption per user in the fourth quarter of 2021 grew by 13%, mainly due to higher data usage by 4.5G users, the company notes. The penetration of smartphones in the lifecell network at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021 was 83%.
The company’s active three-month ARPU increased by 12.3% in 2021 and amounted to UAH 83.2 compared to last year’s figure of UAH 74.1. At the same time, the 12-month MoU increased 2.7% year-on-year, while falling 3.5% year-on-year in the fourth quarter.
Operator lifecell is the third largest mobile operator in Ukraine. Turkcell (Turkey) owns 100% shares of Lifecell LLC.
Ferrexpo Poltava Mining (FPM) and Ferrexpo Yeristovo Mining (FYM), which are the Ferrexpo Group’s subsidiaries, in January 2022, successfully passed a social responsibility audit as per the SMETA methodology, which was carried out by the Intertek international company.
The audit explored the extent of the employees’ social protection and ran across production subdivisions, support services and Administration. Collective and individual interviews were also held at all levels of key and support personnel and contractor workforce.
The approaches of the Companies’ management to the social security of their employees, free transportation to the workplace, high-quality medical care at the company-owned Medical Unit, health and life insurance were positively noted.
The social audit outcomes will be posted on the Sedex platform official website.
Inna Us, Head of Projects and Programmes – Lead Auditor on Social Responsibility and Management Systems of Intertek Ukraine:
“According to the audit data, it has been found that these companies are in compliance with the requirements of the conventions of the International Labor Organization and the SMETA program. The employer provides the conditions for safe work, working hours meet the requirements of Ukrainian Law and industry standards, there is no discrimination and the company is guided by the regulations that fully protect the employees’ rights.”
Yaroslavna Blonska, Head of Sales Europe – External Relations Officer Ferrexpo:
“For the first time, we passed the social responsibility audit using the SMETA methodology and received a high rating from the international company Intertek. The positive opinion of the auditors testifies not only to the high quality of production, but also to the worthy level of social responsibility of our companies. The results of the analysis once again confirmed that Ferrexpo has created the required conditions for safe operation, implements high technologies to reduce the adverse impact of its activities on the environment and is a reliable business partner both in Ukraine and in international markets.”
Audit reference:
Sedex Members EThical Audit is an audit that assesses a company’s compliance with established requirements in four main areas: occupational health and safety, environment, working conditions, and supplier’s goodwill.
The outcomes of the SMETA social responsibility audit are recognized in more than 160 countries of the world and are a weighty and undeniable argument in confirming the company’s compliance with the moral standards of its external and internal business processes.
Company reference:
Ferrexpo is a Swiss headquartered iron ore company with assets in Ukraine and a premium listing on the London Stock Exchange in the FTSE 250 index (ticker FXPO). The Group produces high grade iron ore pellets, which are a premium product for the global steel industry and enable reduced carbon emissions and increased productivity for steelmakers when the Group’s iron ore pellets are converted into steel, compared to more commonly traded forms of iron ore. Ferrexpo’s operations have been supplying the global steel industry for over 40 years and in 2021 the Group produced 11.2 million tonnes of iron ore pellets, placing Ferrexpo as the world’s 3 rd largest exporter of pellets to the global steel industry with a market share of approximately 9%. The Group has a global customer base comprising of premium steel mills around the world, which includes steel mills in Austria, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, China, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Turkey, Vietnam and America. For further information, please visit www.ferrexpo.com
Intertek reference:
Intertek is an industry leader with over 43,800 employees from 1,000 offices in over 100 countries. The company helps local and global businesses meet the quality, health, environment, safety and social responsibility standards of virtually every market worldwide. More information can be found at www.intertek.com.
