Dr. Ambarkova Vilarova from “Zan Mitrev”: Everything starts and ends with our main principle that the patient is in the center of our attention

March 24, 2025

Dr. Elena Ambarkova Vilarova is a transfusion medicine specialist, Process Management and Accreditation Director and part of the digitalization team of the “Zan Mitrev” Clinical Hospital. In this interview, she talks about all her engagements in the clinic, starting with why it is necessary to accredit and reaccredit medical institutions in order to maintain the quality of operations, all the way to the importance of digitalizing all of the work processes.

Previously you were a Medical Director, and last year you were appointed a Process Management and Accreditation Director and part of the digitalization team of the “Zan Mitrev” Clinical Hospital. What does this function mean?

Dr. Ambarkova Vilarova: Everything starts and ends with our main principle “the patient is in the center of our attention” and all the processes are setup, developed and optimized, firstly to improve the quality of the healthcare and secondly, to facilitate and accelerate the work of medical professionals, reduce their idle time and optimize the human and material resources in the given processes. This is a continuous engagement, and, basically, the establishment of a process is the easier part, and the control whether it is implemented according to the prescribed protocol is the harder and more important part because it directly impacts the permanent quality of the medical services, which in turn influences the satisfaction of the patients.

What does accreditation mean for a hospital?

Dr. Ambarkova Vilarova: Our hospital is accredited and reaccredited with the prestigious JCI accreditation, but also with the Macedonian healthcare institutions accreditation. The accreditation, in fact, means the establishment of internationally accepted rules and processes in the healthcare industry and their continuous implementation by the entire staff in order to improve the quality of the medical services and patient safety, as well as the safety of the staff and the hospital. It is one thing to think that we are the best, but this can be confirmed only by an evaluation by relevant institutions. I think that all the healthcare institutions in Macedonia should be accredited, the Macedonian accreditation is solid, and they should be continuously reaccredited. I think that this process is an important part of the improvement of the quality of healthcare services in Macedonia, but, more importantly because reaccreditations occur every three year in order to maintain the level of quality.

Zan Mitrev Clinic is the first completely digitalized hospital in the region. What was your role in the digitalization team of the “Zan Mitev” Clinic?

Dr. Ambarkova Vilarova: Yes, we are the first completely digitalized hospital in the region, and I provide medical support to the digitalization team. We have our own hospital information system (HIS), which we created ourselves according to our work processes. In addition to the medical software, we have material and accounting operations software, legal operations and human resources software, hospitality operation software and they are all integrated within HIS. My role is to “further explain” the processes to the IT engineers so that they can transform them from analogue to digital, test them and offer specific solutions for optimizing them. All medical profiles were involved in the creation of HIS in order to facilitate the transition and acceptance of digitalization by the staff, which, indeed is the most difficult part of the process.

As a physician, clinical transfusion medicine specialist, what are your day-to-day engagements in the hospital?

Dr. Ambarkova Vilarova: The primary activity of a transfusion medicine specialist is the timely provision of blood and blood components for each patient. Blood is a limited resource of human origin which can save lives, but blood transfusion can also cause many side effects which may seriously affect the patient’s health. Therefore, the rational use of blood has always been a main principle of the hospital. In addition, I work every day in the clinic on diagnosing and treatment of thrombotic and hemorrhagic diseases, as well as diagnosing of vein insufficiency (varicose veins) which are then treated by the surgeons. Thromboembolic diseases are potentially life-threatening conditions and may cause severe complications in patients who have had surgeries and severely ill patients. Therefore, timely diagnosis and treatment, but also the prevention of vein thromboembolism is very important, especially considering that today’s medicine, with its modern diagnostic procedures and medicines, makes this possible.