Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 29 November (BelTA) - Pediatric neurosurgery needs to implement telecommunication technology more actively, Belarus’ Healthcare Minister Valery Malashko said at the 1st Congress of the Eurasian Association of Pediatric Neurosurgeons in Minsk on 29 November, BelTA informs.

According to the minister, 2018 will be a period of active development of electronic healthcare in the country. In this respect the pediatric neurosurgery service should be actively involved in the development of the common information space. Special attention should be paid to further implementation of telecommunication technologies. This means to share data between oblast and national medical institutions. The move will improve the availability of medical assistance, the efficiency of decisions and continuity at all the levels of providing assistance.

Other top priorities that need to be further developed include the introduction and perfection of methods of the prenatal diagnosis of malfunctions of the central nervous system, their correction in line with the highest standards, development of neurosurgery on foetus.

In recent years children's neurosurgery service has achieved a lot, the minister added. It has become one of the most dynamically developing hi-tech industries of the national healthcare. It provides high-quality neurosurgical care for patients of all ages: from premature newborns to 18-year-old patients.

Chief pediatric neurosurgeon of the Healthcare Ministry Mikhail Talabaev outlined the achievements of the service as he talked to the media. Belarusian doctors successfully treat not only such diseases as tumors of the central nervous system but also functional disorders. “Our surgeries are aimed at improving the quality of life. This applies to patients with cerebral palsy with spasticity, children with epilepsy,” he noted.

Minsk is hosting the inaugural Eurasian Congress of Pediatric Neurosurgeons on 29 November - 1 December. The Belarusian capital has drawn together more than 320 guests from 17 countries, including Japan, Kazakhstan, Brazil, Israel, the United Kingdom, Moldova, Russia, Italy, Ukraine and Germany. The program includes thematic break-out sessions, plenary lectures, satellite symposia of scientists. An ISPN Teaching course will be held during the congress. This authoritative organization conducts several teaching courses around the world. This year they were held in China, South Africa and Argentina. For the first time, a similar event will be held in Belarus.