Project "SMART_MED": A mobile medical station examined the first patients from small settlements in Dimitrovgrad municipality

A mobile medical station under the SMART_MED project examined the first patients from small settlements in Dimitrovgrad municipality

Telemedicine is one of the most powerful modern tools that healthcare providers can use to improve patient care, increase access to healthcare, and reduce costs. This is a proven solution to many systemic problems in the healthcare system, and the studies in this area show that the use of telemedicine to monitor patients with chronic illness or to provide specialist medical care to patients in a large region has led to significant improvements of health services.

These were also part of the arguments of the three partners from Bulgaria and Greece to start the development of SMART MED in 2016. The project is even more relevant now - in the complicated health situation related to COVID-19.

At the beginning of June 2020, pilot medical examinations were performed for the first time with the specialized mobile medical station, equipped under the Project, in two of the villages in Dimitrovgrad municipality (Dobrich village and Krepost village). 7200 medical examinations will be implemented on the territory of Dimitrovgrad Municipality till September, 2021.

The following medical examinations will be performed with the highly specialized equipment:
1. Basic examination package, including:
- Examination of lungs;
- Examination of heart;
- Examination of abdominal peristalsis;
- Review of blood pressure;
- Review of heart rate;
- Oxygenation of blood;
- Measurement of body temperature;
- Measurement of body mass index;
- Examination of ears;
- ECG examination;
2. Examination of abdominal organs;
3. Examination of female genitals;
4. Examination of the prostate;
5. Examination of the breasts;
6. Examination of the thyroid gland;

The specialized vehicle /mobile medical station/ is equipped with:

• Telemedicine video conferencing system
• Specialized camera with built-in lighting system
• Monitor for vital signs
• 12-channel pc-based ECG device
• Abdominal ultrasound probe
• Telemedical stethoscope
• Otoscope
• Wireless multifunctional portable devices for medical diagnostics of: Blood pressure, Blood sugar, Single-channel ECG for heart rate and heart rhythm, Body temperature, Pulse, Saturation

The following are also purchased within the project:

• Telemedicine video conferencing system for a doctor's workstation
• Software system for managing patients' medical files
• Server configuration
• X-ray machine

Nurses and administrators are engaged for the Mobile Station. The doctor is available in the remote workstation where he monitors all medical examinations and the patient's medical procedures.

The data from the medical examinations are transmitted in real time to specialist doctors through the electronic system, who have the opportunity to review the results of the patients. In addition, all data from on-site medical examinations in the villages will be sent to the patients' GPs.

Through the telemedicine approaches used, patients from small settlements distant from the municipal centers in Dimitrovgrad, Didymoteicho and Paranesti will have the opportunity to consult with specialists from large hospitals, which elderly patients in the villages rarely have the opportunity to reach.

The ambition of the project is to develop a community-based model of primary healthcare that will be applicable to the cross-border region Bulgaria - Greece. The concept of the model consists of solutions for an effective transition from institutional healthcare to community based healthcare, thereby alleviating the volume of healthcare in hospitals and improving the healthcare capacity of healthcare providers.