The Minister of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan visited Ecomed in Nur-Sultan

On July 17, our Astana clinic welcomed a special guest — Doctor of Medical Sciences and Minister of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yelzhan Amantayevich Birtanov.

На встрече мы рассказали обо​ всех основных проблемах, с которыми встречаются специалисты нашей сферы, а также и пациенты, и предложили оптимальные пути их решения. В ходе встречи наш научный руководитель — Байкошкарова Салтанат Берденовна, подняла острые проблемные вопросы, которые «камнем преткновения» стоят в репродуктологии. Одним из таких вопросов был вопрос о приказе, диктующем огромный список обязательных анализов, которые очень часто становятся предметом спора врачей и пациентов, ставился вопрос об изменении его в соответствии с международными стандартами. Ведь не всегда эти анализы обоснованы и на них тратятся много денег​ и время пациентов, а также приходится раздувать штаты клиник, чтобы без конца проверять эти анализы, на что тратятся также финансы клиник и время​ специалистов.​ Так же обсуждению подвергся вопрос создания Дорожной карты-маршрутизатора, чтобы пары, столкнувшиеся с бесплодием, не подвергались дополнительному стрессу, обивая пороги «ненужных» им врачей, и не сдавали «бесполезные» tests that do not bring them any closer to achieving their long-awaited goal.

Another important issue is the proposal to establish a National Registry of Couples Experiencing Infertility. At present, no such comprehensive statistics exist in our country, making it impossible to determine precisely how many couples in Kazakhstan are affected by infertility.

Previously, in the era of paper-based medical records, creating such a registry was extremely difficult because patients experiencing infertility often consulted several doctors and clinics simultaneously, making it virtually impossible to centralize all the information. Today, however, with the introduction of digital technologies and Medical Information Systems (MIS), this has become possible.

The establishment of such a registry would make it possible to assess the true scale of infertility in Kazakhstan, which could, in turn, enable the state to provide greater support and more opportunities for infertility treatment.

The Minister examined the key challenges facing reproductive medicine in detail and proposed that medical experts identify the main causes of infertility in the country and develop measures for their prevention and early detection.

The discussion also addressed IVF quotas, limited public access to advanced reproductive technologies, the high cost of IVF medications, the need for funding of frozen embryo transfer protocols, government support for the cryopreservation of reproductive material for cancer patients, and access to assisted reproductive technologies (ART) for patients living with HIV.

The Minister spoke about increasing the number of state-funded IVF programs and the opportunities to make IVF more accessible with the introduction of the Compulsory Social Health Insurance (CSHI) system in 2020.

The Minister also instructed medical experts to develop a detailed roadmap for supporting couples experiencing infertility, thoroughly addressing all of the existing challenges, and stated that these issues would be resolved systematically.

P.S. The ECOMED clinic network team, headed by Saltanat Berdenovna Baikoshkarova, would like to express its gratitude to the Minister of Healthcare of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Yelzhan Amantayevich Birtanov, and to everyone who contributed to organizing this event.

We hope that all the ideas and proposals discussed during the meeting will soon be put into practice and that IVF treatment will become even more accessible to couples who dream of becoming parents.