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Healthcare: Initiator about Romania-Serbia telemedicine transboundary project: It's an example and inspirational spark
Doctor Ion Sfera, a member of the Romanian community of Serbia's Vojvodina, said on Monday in Brussels that the Romania - Serbia telemedicine transboundary project that is co-financed to an extent of 85 percent from EU funds under the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) has become 'an example and a spark' not just for these two countries, but for other EU states too.
The 53-old telemedicine expert told Agerpres that the presentation of the project as a good practice example at the conference 'Four borders, four problems, four solutions' in Brussels 'was a special honor, both personal - since I am the author of this project' and for all those involved.
'This is a project with real effects that benefits the citizens, but also Serbia and Romania's health systems, specifically everyone involved from doctors to nurses and IT staff. The project is designed as a telediagnosis and teleconsulting system - telemedicine in short - that sees the Varset (Vojvodina) hospital, the Resita (Romania) emergency hospital and the Zitiste (Vojvodina) medicine center equipped with servers and telemedicine platforms and communicating and plugging the deficit of medical professionals in certain health care fields. The experts are consulted via this system, medical imaging information or any type of information about the patient is sent in electronic form. Thus it's no longer the patient the one who travels, but the information, and a common diagnosis is determined in a much easier and safer way, and a more appropriate therapy is then established,' said Dr. Sfera, who is currently doing a PhD in medical informatics.
He says that the idea of the project came to him about seven or eight years ago, but he never dreamed he would be able to put it into practice until the opportunity to use European funds appeared.
'We also develop it at national level in Serbia and Romania. Two systems will be set in place in Belgrade, another two - for which we acted as promoters - in two localities in Serbia, and they will equally appear in Romania, Timisoara, and hopefully Bucharest will soon have them too,' said Ion Sfera.
'We have already become an example and an [inspirational] spark,' says the Serbian Romanian-ethnic doctor who boasts his deep Romanian ancestry.
'I've always been proud of being a Romanian, I consider myself lucky to belong to a nation that has added many beautiful flowers to global civilization and in the future I hope Romanians from Romania or abroad, no matter where they live, make an enormous contribution in various fields, because Romania has science-developing potential,' he also said.
The representative of the Management Authority of the Romania - Serbia transboundary cooperation project says it was given as an example of good practice precisely because it incorporates what the European Commission wants to see, specifically value added to the daily lives of people.