Landscape Assessment of Telemedicine in Ukraine

Alongside comprehensive health finance reform efforts of the past six years, the Ukrainian health system has advanced digital solutions such as an eHealth system and the nascent but growing use of telemedicine. Telemedicine poses potential benefits to increase efficiency and transparency, reduce opportunities for corruption, and expand access to quality health services. The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the resulting massive population displacement and attacks on health facilities have increased telemedicine’s potential to restore and maintain access to health care.

This report provides results of a USAID Local Health System Sustainability Project assessment of the status of telemedicine in Ukraine, conducted from September to November 2022 and including data gathered from nearly every region of Ukraine. Its purpose is to inform policy makers, development partners, and other stakeholders of the current state of telemedicine, including: identifying the populations that could benefit most from telemedicine expansion; priority services for that expansion; and the status and gaps in infrastructure, the enabling environment, and financing of care. It also identifies barriers to expanding telemedicine and strategic investments that would foster expanded access, reconnecting Ukrainians to health care, and supporting the long-term strength and resilience of the health system.