Functionalities and use of the zVEM patient portal and the central registry of patient data

Abstract

eHealth, which has been led by the National Institute of Public Health (NIJZ) since 2015, is one of the key long-term goals of the public sector in Slovenia. Despite certain challenges, great progress has been made in the field of eHealth solutions in recent years. The COVID-19 epidemic has in many ways marked the development of the entire healthcare informatics in Slovenia. The paper presents an in-depth analysis of the functionality and use of the zVEM web portal and the Central Registry of Patient Data (CRPD) in recent years, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic. From the patient's point of view, the development and establishment of the zVEM patient portal is certainly one of the most important achievements in recent decades. During the epidemic, the zVEM portal took on an important role in informing and raising public awareness. The data displayed via the zVEM Portal is drawn from the CRPD. Today, this is without a doubt the most complex public information system in Slovenia. The use of the zVEM portal and CRPD has been growing exponentially in the last two years. Although eHealth solutions have undergone unprecedented development in recent years, much effort will have to be made by all stakeholders in the future and additional human and material resources will have to be provided if we want to maintain the progress and perhaps even accelerate the development trend in healthcare informatics in Slovenia.