Kazakhstan creates unified medical data repository

The Ministry of Healthcare has created Smart Data Healthcare, a unified medical data repository. It consolidates information from 12 medical information systems, registers, and directories and interacts with more than 50 government systems.

Data collected since 2012 has been transferred to the unified repository. Since 1 July 2026, it has been used to process payments for medical care.

Before being added to the repository, data undergoes automated format and logic checks. The number of checks increased from 80 in 2024 to 486 in 2026.

The system identifies errors and inconsistencies before the data is used. If a record fails even one check, it is returned to the medical organisation with an explanation.

These checks are intended to prevent payments for fictitious or incorrectly documented services. The system can identify falsified records, services allegedly provided to deceased patients, and cases in which one doctor works simultaneously at several medical organisations in different regions.

After the data was consolidated and verified, around 400,000 outdated patient records were removed from the medical system. These records were linked to 1.4 million prescriptions.

According to the Ministry of Healthcare, this helped prevent potential expenditure of 31 billion ₸. Unjustified use of medical services decreased by 7.1%, or approximately 7 billion ₸.

The system became 3.5 times more effective at detecting errors after digital controls were strengthened.

Smart Data Healthcare will serve as a single source of medical information for service payments, analytics, and management decisions.

The repository will also support data quality control, analysis of medical organisations’ performance, and planning for the development of the healthcare system.