After a long wait, Turkish citizens may finally have a brand new ID that will replace bulky paper documents. Applications were open yesterday in the central city of Kırıkkale, long after authorities first announced the city would be the first to receive new "smart" IDs the size of a credit card.
Kırıkkale, which neighbors capital Ankara, is currently the only city where the IDs will be in use before it becomes compulsory for all citizens to switch to the new cards within three years. The new IDs come with high security to prevent forgery and a data storage chip that will store the fingerprint and other information for every individual. They will also serve as passports for countries with which Turkey has no visa regime.
Introduction
A previous update pointed out that e-health services promise a more efficient service and reduced government expenditure (for further details please see "E-health services: a new era").
In Communiqué 2015/5, the Ministry of Health recently announced the start of an e-pulse project which aims to provide:
- improved health services (by reducing the length of diagnosis and treatment);
- prevent the repetition of unnecessary examinations; and
- reduce government expenditure.
Weiterlesen: TR: Ministry of Health announces e-pulse project
After five years of extended discussions and cancelled tenders, Turkey was finally able to launch its biometric passport system eight months ago. Taking the current demand into consideration, 5 million biometric passports that have already been produced are expected distributed to Turkish citizens by 2013.
Weiterlesen: TR: More than 1.5 million receive biometric passports
Despite the Ministry of Foreign Affairs not being among the ministries that prioritize the use of new technology, in recent years the ministry has continued to make constructive and notable reforms by prioritizing the use of new technology. One of the most recent IT-related projects was the e-visa designed and introduced by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Naci Koru.
Weiterlesen: Turkish Foreign Ministry prioritizes technology with e-visa and e-archives
The initiative is a joint venture by one of Turkey's mobile phone operators and a mobile health (mHealth) provider. Smartphone customers will be connected by video link from any of the 81 cities covered by the third-generation (3G) service to a call centre, where 20 doctors will take calls 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
Weiterlesen: Turkey: Mobile phone video link for on-demand medical advice