• The Health Ministry will deploy a national digital platform to coordinate patient transfers between hospitals.

• The system will impose a maximum 48-hour response time for urgent transfer requests.

• The platform integrates with ground and air medical transport services, including the Civil Protection and Air Algérie.

Algeria’s government continues to expand its national digitalization agenda, which now extends to the health sector where needs remain critical. Authorities aim to modernize essential services and improve continuity of care across the country.

The Health Ministry plans to launch a digital platform to organize patient transfers between hospitals. Health Minister Mohamed Seddik Aït Messaoudene announced the initiative on Thursday, 11 December, during a presentation before the Council of the Nation. The platform seeks to streamline a process that remains complex, especially in southern and High Plateaus provinces where access to specialized care remains limited.

The system will establish a fully digital workflow for filing, tracking and validating transfer requests, which are currently processed through multiple uncoordinated channels. The minister said these operations follow a strict regulatory framework requiring each request to be reviewed within reasonable timelines. He added that urgent cases must receive “a maximum response time of 48 hours.”

This project forms part of Algeria’s 2030 national digital transformation strategy, which prioritizes the modernization of public services. It comes as authorities seek to improve continuity of care across a vast territory with significant geographic disparities. Southern provinces, which represent more than 80% of Algeria’s land area, continue to face limited access to several medical specialties, making transfers essential for cases requiring advanced expertise.

The platform will automate several key steps, from registering requests to verifying medical criteria and transmitting files to the teams responsible for evaluation. It will also track compliance with response deadlines and facilitate the activation of emergency protocols when needed.

The system will connect to all medical transport services, including ground ambulances and air evacuation units operated by the Civil Protection, Air Algérie, and, in the most critical situations, the Algerian Air Force.

The transfer-management platform aligns with Algeria’s broader effort to digitize its health system. The government is deploying the Electronic Medical Record (EMR), establishing the National Agency for Health Digitalization (ANNS), expanding telemedicine, and adopting new national cloud solutions for hosting health data.

This article was initially published in French by Samira Njoya

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum