Estonia plans €7 million upgrade to centralized health specialist dashboard
Estonia plans to spend up to €7 million overhauling a digital platform that gives healthcare workers a more complete and accessible view of patients' medical info.
The Health and Welfare Information Systems Center (TEHIK) is planning further development of the Health Management Dashboard (TJT), a nationwide platform launched in 2023 that consolidates data on examinations, lab tests and appointments across multiple healthcare providers.
The goal is to reduce time spent searching through multiple systems and help medical professionals access key patient information more quickly. It would also spare patients from repeatedly answering the same questions at each new appointment.
"The main goal is to provide healthcare workers and providers with a single tool where they can quickly and clearly access a patient's most vital health data," said Kaido Vaade, product owner for the platform at TEHIK.
The planned contract covers software development, maintenance, usability improvements and updates needed to comply with changing legal requirements.
Vaade said the platform evolved from Estonia's earlier health data viewer but is meant to become a broader tool for managing and using health information, not just displaying records.
Most of the changes will affect healthcare professionals, with a focus on simplifying daily workflows through a clearer overview of patient data and less fragmentation between systems.
Future versions are also expected to offer more customized views based on users' roles and responsibilities.
"The impact on patients will be more indirect and gradual," Vaade added.
No open access to patient data
Another longer-term goal is to make the platform expandable, allowing additional health management modules to be added and enabling external developers to build new tools in a controlled environment.
"That does not mean open access to patient data," Vaade emphasized, instead describing a platform development model governed by strict rules and requirements.
TEHIK expects development work to take four years. Bids for the project will be evaluated later this summer, with 90 percent of a bid's score based on a practical test assignment and 10 percent on hourly rates.
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Editor: Karin Koppel, Aili Vahtla
