During the first two hours after it was made operational, the national electronic medical referral system issued 200 referrals for PCR tests nationwide.

At the presentation of the system, Deputy Minister of Health Zheni Nacheva stated that “after 20 years of delays and analyses we can now say, with pride, that we have taken this first step in electronic healthcare. The pandemic precipitated the introduction of the system, a centralized module and a link to users is provided, whatever the software they use,” Zheni Nacheva explained. 

“If a patient has a referral from a doctor, they pay nothing. But if they want a test done of their own choice they will have to pay for it. Paper referrals will be eliminated as such once we are sure that the system is functioning without a hitch,” Deputy Minister Nacheva said.