The government has launched a new electronic portal, www.ehealth.gov.mt, which provides an array of services that were previously available but not in one comprehensive setup.

Launching the portal yesterday, Industry, Investment and IT Minister Austin Gatt said that the project was just the start of a comprehensive e-Health policy. The combining of services into one portal is part of the government?s strategy that is also an essential requirement of the IT contract for the Mater Dei Hospital.

Dr Gatt said the contract was the basis of the extended IT health services that will be made available to the public in the coming years. This leap of quality in the health sector, he said, is a demonstration of what can be achieved by public-private partnerships such as this new e-Health portal.

Health Minister Louis Deguara said that the portal allows a better use of the country?s human resources in the health sector.

Ms Charmaine Sammut from the Health Promotion Unit gave a detailed presentation on the services that are available from the portal. These include applications for European health insurance cards, the booking of appointments with doctors, an audio-visual library, online complaints on health inspection issues and the list of pharmacies that are opening on Sundays and public holidays.

Ms Sammut said the public can also register with the Blood Bank?s database, while doctors can log in with an electronic identification tag for security. Complaints on health and safety issues can be made anonymously, she added.

She said that back-office work processing applications that have been registered online has already started, with thousands of European health insurance cards currently being handled.