3 major changes in medical examination and treatment quality management

(Chinhphu.vn) – Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan emphasized three major fundamental changes in improving the quality of medical examination and treatment in our country in recent times, and also frankly pointed out some existing problems such as the overload situation in major hospitals; medical examination and treatment procedures, although still causing inconvenience...

Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan speaks at the conference - Photo: VGP/LH

The phenomenon of patients going abroad for medical treatment has changed direction.

At the conference to review 10 years of implementing the National Action Program to improve the capacity of managing the quality of medical examination and treatment until 2025 on November 25, the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, Ministry of Health said that in the past 10 years, the quality management system at medical examination and treatment facilities has been established relatively completely.

Specifically, nearly 99% of hospitals have established a Quality Management Council, 77% have specialized staff and each unit has an average of 2-3 staff. However, only about 23% have a non-concurrent Head of Quality Management, showing that human resources still lack expertise.

The implementation of patient safety regulations reached a high rate in most areas, such as correct patient identification, procedural safety, medication safety, infection control, fall prevention, communication between healthcare workers, etc. Each group had an implementation rate of 90% or higher, demonstrating a strong change in patient safety awareness and practice.

Regarding quality improvement activities, 95% of hospitals develop annual quality improvement plans, and more than 87% measure quality indicators. However, only 50% of units publicly disclose these indicators. This shows that transparency and safety culture are not uniform among localities.

The simplest change that can be seen is that the phenomenon of patients going abroad for medical treatment has changed direction. Currently, the professional reputation, quality and price of medical examination and treatment services are gradually attracting patients from abroad to Vietnam to use services from the simplest such as wisdom tooth extraction, dental aesthetics to complex specialized services such as neonatal cardiovascular intervention...

Leaders of the Ministry of Health and many hospitals attended the conference - Photo: VGP/LH

Quality is never an accident.

Dr. Ha Anh Duc, Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, Ministry of Health, said that in the coming time, hospital quality work will focus on 6 key areas: perfecting the legal framework, enhancing patient safety, data-based quality management, digital transformation in hospital quality management, developing human resources for quality management and improving patient experience.

In particular, the Department will research and develop a new set of hospital quality standards based on existing results, ensuring suitability with Vietnam's characteristics and harmony with international practices; design according to levels, with a clear implementation roadmap for hospitals to proactively implement and upgrade sustainable quality, approaching international quality.

Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan noted that over the past 10 years, Vietnam's healthcare system has entered a period of transition to a quality management model that meets modern standards, approaching international trends and achieving three major fundamental changes.

That is the synchronous formation of a quality management system from central to local levels; standardization of clinical practices and development of hospital quality criteria according to a modern approach; development of patient safety culture and continuous improvement methods.

However, the Deputy Minister also frankly pointed out a number of existing problems such as overload in major hospitals; medical examination and treatment procedures, although improved, are still troublesome; abuse of drugs, tests, and techniques; uneven quality between professional levels; lack of high-quality human resources; and financial mechanisms that have not yet created incentives for quality.

The Deputy Minister affirmed that quality is never the result of chance. Quality is the result of intelligence, of correct policy choices, of a culture of safety that is cultivated, of accurately measured data, and of dedicated physicians who put the patient at the center...

Hien Minh

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/3-chuyen-bien-lon-trong-quan-ly-chat-luong-kham-chua-benh-102251125140114969.htm