THE IMPACT OF HEALTHCARE DIGITALIZATION ON THE ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF REGIONAL SYSTEMS AND LABOR PRODUCTIVITY

Abstract

The article examines the impact of healthcare digitalization on the economic efficiency of a regional healthcare system and on medical staff productivity using the Omsk Region in 2021–2025 as a case study. The empirical base includes aggregated data from the regional medical information system, Federal Statistical Observation Form No. 30, and the Territorial Compulsory Health Insurance Fund. The study analyzes changes in digital infrastructure, healthcare service volumes, staffing and expenditures; calculates an integrated digitalization index, labor productivity indicators, and direct economic effects. Despite a 5.9% decline in the total number of medical workers, the number of patient visits increased by 21.6%, while the volume of medical services rose by 29.4%. Labor productivity measured by visits per employee increased by 29.2%, and productivity measured by services per employee increased by 37.6%. The combined time required for three routine operations decreased by 55.2%, corresponding to a potential release of approximately 1.043 million labor hours per year. The directly confirmed economic effect in 2025 compared with 2021 is estimated at RUB 376.1–388.5 million. The findings indicate that digitalization can improve the resource efficiency of regional healthcare systems, although the identified statistical associations should be interpreted cautiously because the time series contains only five annual observations and the 2025 values are estimates.