"Servicing Migrants With the Speed of the Internet"

* Вміст доступний лише англійською мовою

In today’s world, the speed of communication is increasingly important, whether it is a web store, a coffee shop or a medical clinic. With the speed of the Internet, ease of phone calls and ever-smarter mobile devices, people expect rapid responses —this is a challenge that IOM Ukraine understood as an opportunity. 

Mariia, a young Ukrainian student, received a grant to study in Australia, but was afraid to lose this opportunity due the short application deadline. However, thanks to the eHealth system introduced by IOM Ukraine, upon request of the Australian Government, her medical check-up was conducted very quickly. 

The Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship processes and records online all the health examination results of visa applicants who complete examinations outside of Australia. IOM is able to enter a visa applicant’s health information including the health examination results, a digital chest X-ray, specialist reports and biometric photographs, online.

“It was very good to know that thanks to this electronic system, my case could be processed in a matter of minutes. This saved my post-graduate education!” says Mariia.

An essential element of the eHealth system within IOM Ukraine’s Migration Health Department is a modern digital X-ray, which has considerable advantages over older, conventional systems. Health information is now submitted and received electronically, avoiding any delay associated with sending hard copy health examination results to Australia. The majority of cases is processed and finalized in minutes.

This is really important for migrants like Yurii. A highly skilled migrant worker, he was on the verge of losing the opportunity to work in a transnational company: “the company prepared all the documents for me, but in the end, I had to be in Melbourne in less than one month. I had a hard task in front of me: prepare everything for this big change in my life, not only for myself, but also for my wife and son… I thought that we were not going to make it in time. We contacted IOM and their staff arranged an appointment for us the next day, and fortunately we managed to finalize our medical examination in time.”

In addition to the Australian Immigration Programme, the Canadian Immigration Programme will also introduce the eMedical system this year. The transition to this new system is a milestone for IOM Ukraine, as more migrants will benefit from the possibilities provided by the speed of the Internet.

Since 1997, IOM Ukraine’s Migration Health Department provided health assessment services to about 200,000 migrants for the purpose of resettlement, international employment, enrolment in specific assistance programmes, or for obtaining a temporary or permanent visa. Currently IOM Ukraine conducts migrants’ health assessments for Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the U.S. and the United Kingdom.