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Over the years, healthcare facilities in Ho Chi Minh City have significantly increased the application of information technology (IT) in management, operation, and patient care. Many digital transformation solutions have been implemented, contributing to a substantial improvement in the city's healthcare landscape.
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| People register for medical examinations and treatment, and look up health insurance information using their citizen ID cards at Binh Dan Hospital. |
Technology - a powerful assistant
Every day, Binh Dan Hospital receives more than 2,000 outpatients for examination and treatment, and nearly 900 inpatients. Previously, nurses at the hospital had to manually fill out five paper forms after caring for patients. Now, the hospital has developed a single electronic form, significantly reducing recording time. Parameters such as pulse, temperature, and blood pressure are automatically displayed as soon as data is entered. With just a tablet, nurses can quickly access all patient records and treatment orders from doctors without needing to carry paper files while caring for patients at their bedside.
According to the management board of Binh Dan Hospital, since the beginning of 2022, the hospital has prioritized the implementation of digital transformation, aiming to perfect electronic medical records. The entire source code was developed and perfected by the hospital's IT engineering team according to the practical requirements of examination and treatment activities. To date, almost all modules in the medical record system have been completed and are operating smoothly, meeting the requirements of regulations on electronic medical records. In addition, the hospital applies artificial intelligence to guide patients on information such as appointment schedules, costs, and things to note during examinations.
Similarly, Thong Nhat Hospital has been using smart cards to serve patients since 2020, bringing great benefits to both patients and doctors. When people come for examination at the hospital, they are given a smart medical card which they use to register for online medical examinations and treatment; choose doctors and clinics as requested; and pay hospital fees and services directly at kiosks placed in the walkways.
Dr. Nguyen The Han, Head of the On-Demand Examination Department at Thong Nhat Hospital, said that since the introduction of smart medical cards, patients have experienced reduced waiting times. Meanwhile, healthcare workers have also seen a reduction in workload. The integration of health insurance cards into chip-embedded citizen identity cards (a collaboration between the Ho Chi Minh City health sector and the Social Insurance agency) also eliminates the need for people to carry their health insurance cards when seeking medical treatment; healthcare workers save time on data entry and operations.
Just a click away
Associate Professor Dr. Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, stated that previously, medical facilities had to submit paper documents to the Department of Health for review when there were changes to their operating licenses or changes in practicing personnel. Now, they only need to update the information online. The information will be processed within 5 working days and will be publicly available on the industry's information portal at https://thongtin.medinet.org.vn.
This aims to facilitate medical facilities in registering for practice in accordance with the law; to ensure transparency of information to the public; and to enable the Social Insurance agency to monitor, review, and determine the legal practice of medical facilities in the settlement of health insurance claims.
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Graphics: NGOC TRAM |
In addition, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health is also implementing digital transformation in the process of evaluating and approving technical procedures, helping to shorten many steps, save travel time for experts, and save paper and ink by eliminating the need to photocopy multiple copies to send to experts for evaluation.
The creation of a large database of medical examination and treatment procedures at healthcare facilities is a crucial foundation for state management agencies to easily monitor and inspect compliance with approved procedures. It also helps to publicize information, enabling citizens to monitor and promptly report facilities that perform unapproved procedures. To date, nearly 50,000 procedures from all public and private hospitals under the management of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health have been digitized, and citizens can easily access them on the department's electronic portal.
According to Associate Professor Dr. Tang Chi Thuong, the city's health sector is currently issuing recommendations to promote digital transformation activities aimed at building smart hospitals. “Digital transformation is considered one of the key activities in the hospital's annual operational plan, directly supervised by the hospital director. At the same time, it is necessary to disseminate and thoroughly explain the meaning and importance of digital transformation to every official and employee in the hospital; prioritize the allocation of resources to recruit additional personnel for the IT department, and pay attention to and create favorable conditions for IT specialists to improve their skills,” Associate Professor Dr. Tang Chi Thuong emphasized.
Mr. NGUYEN TRUONG NAM, Deputy Director of the Information Technology Department ( Ministry of Health ):
Establishing specialized data repositories
The effectiveness of digital transformation in the healthcare industry is clearly demonstrated for hospitals, patients, and the healthcare sector as a whole. Digital transformation, especially the digitization of hospitals, will create specialized data repositories, data repositories on medical examinations and treatments, and data repositories on electronic health records. These data repositories are interconnected across healthcare facilities nationwide, helping to support and improve the quality of healthcare services and medical examinations and treatments for the people. From these medical data repositories, large-scale healthcare data systems will be formed, enabling the application of modern digital technologies (such as big data, artificial intelligence, and data analytics) to serve scientific research, disease pattern analysis, and forecasting.
Dr. Nguyen Anh Dung, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health:
It has not received adequate and comprehensive investment.
Currently, there are many difficulties and challenges in implementing digital transformation in healthcare facilities in Ho Chi Minh City, including: a shortage of human resources and IT infrastructure due to insufficient and inadequate investment; internal regulations and procedures that have not been updated to suit the reality; and although the digital transformation mindset of staff has improved, their digital capabilities have not yet met the requirements for innovation in the healthcare sector. This leads to unclear and unsatisfactory results in the synchronized implementation of digital transformation in healthcare facilities. This year, the city's healthcare sector will launch two key activities of significant importance in the sector's digital transformation: building electronic health records for city residents and establishing a shared data warehouse for the healthcare sector.
Nguyen Quoc - Thanh Son wrote
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