From Face ID to automatic payments: How digitalization is transforming Kazakhstan's healthcare

The Ministry of Healthcare presented approaches to enhancing the activities of the Social Health Insurance Fund and advancing digital transformation. Particular attention was given to increasing the accessibility and quality of medical care within the framework of compulsory social health insurance.

Kazakhstan’s compulsory health insurance system currently covers about 17 million people, including 12 million from preferential categories. Minister of Healthcare Akmaral Alnazarova reported that over the past six years, the Fund’s reserves exceeded 6.8 trillion tenge, with 2 trillion tenge allocated by the state for preferential categories. In 2025 alone, 1.4 trillion tenge was directed to these purposes.

From January 1, 2026, compulsory social insurance package will be expanded, with legislative changes set to take effect. Participants discussed transparency and strengthened oversight through digital mechanisms.

As of today, 92% of medical services in Kazakhstan are distributed automatically, with full automation expected by the end of 2026.

Key business processes such as procurement and payments have already been digitized. Integration of the Fund’s information system with the ministries of healthcare, labor andsocial protection, and eGov platforms ensured the automatic updating of data on preferential categories and improved the accuracy of accounting for contributions to the health insurance system.

By next year, the entire planning process will be digitized, allowing calculations to reflect both historical data and actual volumes of care.

Since July 1, 2025, monitoring of quality and payments has been integrated into a single digital system, reducing payment documents from nine to three and ensuring seamless integration with 1C accounting. Weak points identified are under control and being addressed with digital tools.

A Face ID system is being introduced in medical organizations and already allowed to reduce false entries by 7%, saving about 10.5 billion tenge in budgetary funds.

Next year, indicators for calculating rating assessments in the distribution of medical services will be fully digitized. As a result, access to financing will be granted to providers that ensure high-quality and accessible healthcare. Work will also be completed on a unified medical data repository to improve planning and service quality.

Efforts are underway to digitize clinical protocols and introduce co-payment mechanisms to optimize medicine provision.

“We are focused on continuously improving the quality and accessibility of medical services. The first results of digitalization are already visible. Automation will ease the burden on medical staff, ensure transparency in the use of funds, and allow citizens, doctors, and the state to clearly see the results of reforms,” emphasized Prime Minister Bektenov.

Following the meeting, the Prime Minister instructed the ministries of healthcare, artificial intelligence, and digital development to accelerate digitization efforts. The Ministry of Finance will take measures to strengthen financial discipline in the healthcare system.