Ministry of Healthcare considers strengthening authentication procedures for patients in Kazakhstan

The Ministry of Healthcare of Kazakhstan is developing new mechanisms to improve control over medical services. Authentication using Face ID is one of several tools expected to be deployed. According to the agency, it came up with the idea after an influx of complaints about irrelevant records in patients’ mobile apps.

«More and more patients have recently reported records of medical services they had not received in their mobile apps. This false data not only causes economic damage but undermines the trust of society in the entire healthcare system. It is now obvious that the existing systems of control and monitoring simply can’t prevent such incidents,» the agency said in a statement.

Face ID technology may be an effective solution to prove that a patient indeed visited their doctor and received a specific medical service. As part of the mobile app’s authentication process, this new tool is expected to be a precise and safe way to register the fact of receiving medical services, preventing any false records from happening.

The healthcare agency is also reviewing other options such as QR codes and unique codes for digital documents. These measures are also meant to strengthen control in the healthcare system and improve transparency.

Under the plan, a group of experts from the ministry is expected to assess the efficacy of the proposed measures and how they could be introduced in healthcare facilities throughout Kazakhstan. The ministry hopes that the number of false records will drop drastically once the initiative is implemented. It is necessary to restore the faith of thousands of patients in the healthcare system, the agency highlighted.

However, as Kursiv.media reported earlier this week, Deputy Chair of the Social Health Insurance Fund Indira Sarkenova refused to accept the findings of the Supreme Audit Chamber (SAC) about false records amounting to millions of dollars, describing them as «speculation.» She claimed that auditors have «compared unmatchable data.»

The official insists that violations were found in those healthcare organizations that received financing under certain tariffs for capitation standard rates. However, the SAC allegedly counted these services as fully prepaid.