“Your loved one was taken by ambulance”: Kazakhstanis to receive SMS alerts

Kazakhstanis can now arrange for relatives or other trusted people to receive an SMS when they are taken to a hospital.

The service operates through the eGov.kz portal and eGov Mobile. Users can register up to three trusted contacts by entering each person’s individual identification number. The contact must be at least 18 and listed in the Mobile Citizens Database.

The designated person receives an SMS asking them to approve or reject the registration. They can reply with code 911 to confirm or 912 to refuse, within five hours. Once consent is given, the user signs the request and the contact’s details move to the Ministry of Healthcare’s information system. Processing can take up to 10 minutes.

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The person specified will receive an SMS asking them to confirm or reject the registration. To confirm, they must reply with code 911; to reject it, with code 912. They have up to five hours to make a decision.

The hospitalization alert is sent automatically after a medical worker registers the patient. An SMS from 1414 states that the person has been hospitalized and gives the name and address of the medical facility, so relatives do not have to wait for the patient to make contact.

If a patient arrives without documents or cannot provide personal details, doctors may involve police to establish the person’s identity, said Aidar Kassenov, deputy director of the Health Ministry’s Department for Electronic Healthcare Development. Users can check a trusted contact’s status through their personal account on eGov.kz or eGov Mobile.

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If a person is unable to state their name or provide information about themselves, doctors may involve the police to establish the patient’s identity.