National EFMI Member Society: The Ukraine Association for "Computer Medicine" (UACM)
Short overview: UACM was set up in August 1992 in Kharkiv, where the IVth World Congress of WFUPS (World Federation of Ukrainian Physicians Societies) was taking place.

UACM became a national member of International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) in September 1993 (Kyoto, Japan).

In May 1994 UACM was adopted as a National Member of European Federation of Medical Informatics (EFMI) at the IVth European Congress on Medical Informatics in Lisbon (Portugal).

It unites 78 scientific research institutes, universities, scientific societies, enterprises and hospitals. Over 900 scientists are individual members of the UACM.

The structure of the UACM has Scientific Council including 68 leading scientist-experts in medical informatics, medicine, radioelectronics from Ukraine, NIS, USA, UK, Canada, France, Japan, Israel and Turkey.

This Council's terms of reference cover:

• elaboration and discussion of complex computerisation programmes in various fields of healthcare;
• analysis and sharing of experience of computer technologies usage according to the situation in Ukraine;
• consideration of foreign proposals dealing with introduction and selling of computer technologies in the field of medicine to Ukraine and making proposals to the Ministry of Healthcare of Ukraine to buy them;
• progressive directions on elaborating and consideration of possible joint projects;
• carrying out expert estimations for receiving state licences.

A Regulation on certification information technologies in Healthcare was worked out with the help of the UACM Scientific Council and was approved by the Ministry of Healthcare and the State Committee for Standards. Committee on certification was set up under the Ministry of Healthcare. Starting from 1998 its work will be based on the Ukrainian Institute of Public Health. All programme products for medical application will be forwarded to this Institute for certification. Since 1998 all medical software used in Healthcare of Ukraine must receive the certificate from the mentioned Committee.

Purposes:

• Working out new medical software and biotechnical systems.
• Carrying out independent expert control and preparing materials to receive certificate.
• Putting the best Ukrainian and foreign systems into medical practice.
• Organising educational activity to train for new and postgraduate education; patent search; author's rights protection.
• Contacts with IMIA and EFMI members, foreign scientific societies, universities.
• Participation in state and foreign programs of Informatization of Healthcare in Ukraine.
• Organising symposia, forums, exhibitions and competitions.

The UACM experts has worked out the Concept of State Policy of Informatization of the Ukraine Healthcare adopted by the Ministry of Healthcare, agreed with Academy of Medical Sciences (http://www.uacm.cit-ua.net (Ukr. Radiological Journal 1996. №2.p. 115-118). The National Program of Healthcare Informatization to be put into practice has created.

National healthcare network of direct access UkrMedNet is being set up. The Concept of creation of the direct access State National Healthcare Network (UkrMedNet) has been developed by UACM experts (http://www.uacm.cit-ua.net).

The Information Analytical System (its medical part) for emergency situations within Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is under development.

The project of the system of medical information exchange in the NIS is worked out.

The UACM is an initiator of the National Program Hospital Information Systems.

The fact that the UACM joins the Internet plays an important role in its development. In 1996 the UACM has created of its own WWW-server in 3 languages: Ukrainian, Russian and English (http://www.uacm.cit-ua.net). The UACM members have the possibility to use data bases and scientific information on medical informatics world-wide and Europe-wide in Ukrainian and Russian (WWW-servers of EFMI, IMIA, WHO, EHTO European Observatory on Telemedicine), UNESCO and different WWW-servers of IMIA/EFMI (WG's and SIGs ). The UACM has received an offer and has created affiliate Web- EHTO-UKRAINE server in Ukraine (http://www.ehto-ukr.cit-ua.net).

In 1996 the United Commission on Telemedicine of the Ministry of Healthcare and the Academy of Medical Sciences has been created. The Commission co-operates with the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and European Commission on Telemedecine (DGXIII). In June 1997 the UACM specialists took part in the 1st World Symposium on Telemedecine for developing countries and made a report. The Symposium took part in Lisbon, Portugal, under the patronage of UN and WHO. In July 1998 the UACM specialists took part in the Conference “Telemedecine International Medical Care Networks” in Visby (Sweden) for co-operation and efficient use of resources by building networks within the Baltic Region. In 1998 under the initiative of UACM started the Ukrainian-American project on monitoring of birth defects in Ukraine.

The annual scientific conferences, exhibitions and sales of medical software are carried out with the participation of leading foreign firms and Ukrainian enterprises within the Programme of Health Care Informatization.

Since a 1993 UACM conducts annual International Conference Computer Medicine.