Kazakhstan is launching "Qalqan," a unified digital platform through which all financial processes within the Social Health Insurance and the Guaranteed Volume of Free Medical Care (GVFMC/GOBMP) systems will pass. By April 2026, all medical organizations working with the Social Health Insurance Fund must transition to it, El.kz reports citing Tengri-health.

What is Qalqan?

Qalqan is not a new app for patients, but rather a central financial healthcare platform designed for the transparent management of funds within the medical insurance system. Currently, clinics use dozens of different systems, which complicates oversight and creates risks for errors and malpractice. The new platform is intended to consolidate data from medical organizations, the SHIF, the Ministry of Health, and other state databases into a single digital loop. At the same time, clinics will not have to abandon their familiar medical systems used for appointments, patient records, and lab results. Qalqan is responsible solely for the financial side: accounting, oversight, contracts, and settlements.

How Many Clinics Have Already Connected?

To date, 1,865 medical organizations work with the SHIF, and 1,424 of them have already signed agreements to use Qalqan. This represents approximately 76% of all providers. According to the Ministry of Finance, over 1,600 medical organizations are already effectively connected to the service, and the expected economic impact of implementing "OSMS 2.0" is estimated at 255.2 billion tenge.

What Can the Platform Do?

Qalqan automates the entire cycle of medical service financing:

• Creates electronic dossiers for clinics.
• Verifies licenses and data through state databases.
• Conducts digital procurement of medical services.
• Automatically verifies services rendered.
• Launches anti-fraud controls against "phantom billing" (falsified records).
• Generates certificates of completion and processes payments through the Treasury.
• Integrates with the systems of the Ministry of Health and individual clinics.

The main goal is to make the movement of money in medicine completely transparent and reduce manual operations.

What This Means for Patients

For patients, the most important thing is that no special action is required. You do not need to register in Qalqan, download a separate app, or change the way you book doctor appointments. The platform works "behind the scenes" and is intended primarily for clinics, the SHIF, and government agencies.

However, citizens can expect indirect benefits:

• Fewer errors in service records.
• Lower risk of "phantom" charges (falsified services) under health insurance.
• Faster financial procedures.
• A transparent history of care provided.

In the future, some patient services may be integrated into eGov Mobile.

What Qalqan cannot do:
You cannot use Qalqan to book an appointment, view doctor schedules, receive lab results, check your place in a queue, or manage hospitalizations. For these tasks, existing services remain in place: Damumed, clinic registries, and eGov Mobile.