Hospitals race to apply electronic medical records

In Ho Chi Minh City, hospitals are racing to reach the electronic medical record goal before September 30. Besides the hospitals that have announced the success of electronic medical records, many hospitals are still rushing to implement them.

At Gia Dinh People's Hospital, many patients no longer carry their medical records, doctors can easily check patient data on the computer thanks to the operation of electronic medical records - Photo: TRI DUC

Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Tang Chi Thuong emphasized that if after September, any hospital has not completed electronic medical records, the hospital leaders must take responsibility.

Some places only require ID card, some places still require paper medical records

According to Tuoi Tre, at Gia Dinh People's Hospital, there are very few people holding medical records, papers, and test results. Many elderly people who go to the hospital only need to bring their ID cards to register for examination.

The patient sits in the examination room, the doctor only needs to look up on the system to check the patient's medical history, previously prescribed medications, blood test results, X-rays...

Sitting at the examination department, Ms. LTH (living in Ho Chi Minh City) only needs to use a smartphone with the VNeID application installed to look up her medical examination and treatment history.

Ms. H. said that before going to the hospital for check-ups such as pregnancy check-ups, she had to buy a medical examination book, but now she only needs to bring her ID card to be able to quickly register for a medical examination. When the tests are done and the results are available, the hospital will send a text message to notify that the results are available, so the patient does not have to wait or jostle.

Meanwhile, Mr. TTL (62 years old, living in Hoc Mon commune), who has many chronic diseases, said that every time he goes for a check-up at Hoc Mon Regional General Hospital, he still brings his medical record book with him as a long-standing habit. He said that many times the book gets dirty or wet, making it very inconvenient to keep. "If there is an electronic health record, going to the doctor only needs the ID card, it will be very convenient," he shared.

Mr. L's case is also a common reality for many patients in Ho Chi Minh City, when hospitals are in the process of urgently converting from paper medical records to electronic medical records, so patients still use paper medical records.

At Gia Dinh People's Hospital, many patients no longer carry their medical records, doctors can easily check patient data on the computer thanks to the operation of electronic medical records - Photo: TRI DUC

Free up human and material resources, patients benefit

Speaking to Tuoi Tre, Dr. Huynh Van Binh, Head of the General Planning Department of Gia Dinh People's Hospital, said that since 2006, the hospital began building electronic medical records, and by January 2025, it had officially implemented comprehensive electronic medical records. The hospital has completely abandoned paper medical records, applying 100% electronic records in medical examination and treatment, and health management.

Dr. Binh said that the benefits that electronic medical records bring to patients and hospitals cannot be denied. Patients can easily check old medical records, do not need to bring paper records when going for follow-up examinations, and receive results right on their phones...

On the hospital side, since the first quarter of 2025, the hospital has performed health insurance appraisal on electronic medical records. Previously, on average, each quarter, the hospital spent over 2 billion VND on printing paper medical records.

Not to mention that the hospital has more than 70,000 inpatients each year, eliminating paper medical records helps save tens of billions of dong in costs. Furthermore, no longer maintaining a warehouse storing tens of tons of paper each year, this helps free up space and manpower to store paper medical records.

"Implementing electronic medical records for a 1,500-bed general hospital requires a huge investment. At the same time, successful operation requires synchronous coordination and close connection between departments and rooms, and must ensure training and change in working habits of medical staff," Dr. Binh shared about the difficulties.

Dr. Binh recommends that the Ministry of Health and relevant units continue to improve the legal framework for electronic medical records and electronic health records. There should be a support mechanism, prioritizing investment for end-line hospitals, grade I hospitals and especially, to ensure synchronization of information technology infrastructure. At the same time, it is necessary to promote the connection of national health data, so that electronic medical records can truly play a role in comprehensive and continuous health care for the people.

At Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital, Dr. Vo Duc Chien - hospital director - said that electronic medical records have been deployed since the end of 2023. According to Dr. Chien, the core part of the electronic medical record is the PACS system (picture archiving and communication software) because it plays a key role in the process of digitizing medical data.

However, the implementation of electronic medical records has encountered difficulties so far because health insurance has not yet regulated the payment unit price for this system. Therefore, it is necessary to soon issue specific regulations to ensure the operating costs of PACS when implementing electronic medical records.

Nationwide, over 500/1,700 hospitals have completed electronic medical records.

Mr. Ha Anh Duc, Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management (Ministry of Health), said that according to the Government 's request, all hospitals nationwide must implement electronic medical records by September 30. By September 10, more than 500/1,700 hospitals had completed it.

According to Dr. Anh Duc, there are over 400,000 information fields in electronic medical records. The Ministry of Health has advised the issuance of nearly 100,000 shared lists. Moving towards connecting electronic medical records data of hospitals. When the data is "correct, sufficient, clean, and alive", moving towards applying artificial intelligence to manage the industry.

The Ministry of Health also emphasized that electronic medical records are not only the responsibility of the Ministry of Health but also the responsibility of local leaders, related to finance, human resources and local infrastructure. The Ministry of Health continues to coordinate with localities to accelerate and complete the progress set by the Government.

According to the Ministry of Health, electronic medical records manage personal information, medical examination results, paraclinical tests, functional tests, diagnosis, treatment, care and other relevant information during the treatment process at medical facilities. Each patient will have a unique identification code based on the personal identification number to connect and communicate electronic medical record data.

Working day and night to keep up with the schedule

Besides hospitals that have successfully assessed and implemented electronic medical records, many hospitals are still rushing to implement them within a limited time with the motto "no matter how difficult it is, we must do it".

Doctor Dang Quoc Quan - Director of Hoc Mon Regional General Hospital - said that the progress of implementing electronic medical records at the hospital is determined by two main groups of factors: internal preparation (subjective) and external dependent factors (objective).

Regarding objective factors, the hospital has completed all internal preparations, from human resources, information technology department to staff training with the coordination of FPT.

As for objective factors, the biggest obstacle for the hospital is that it still has to wait for the handover of the information technology package from the new hospital construction project management board and the contractor. Therefore, the timely completion of the electronic medical records depends on the handover progress of the project board and the contractor.

In addition to the specific problem of waiting for handover, the hospital also faces common difficulties that many other hospitals are facing in the process of implementing electronic medical records, including economic pressure when the investment costs for infrastructure, software and system operation are very large.

"The hospital is working day and night and will immediately deploy electronic medical records when the information technology package is handed over from the new hospital construction project board to keep up with the overall progress," Dr. Quan emphasized.

Doctor Pham Nguyen Anh Vu, Deputy Director of Binh Chanh District Hospital, said the hospital is also completing electronic medical records to meet the schedule before September 30, and is expected to start a trial run around September 20.

Similarly, at the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Traditional Medicine, Director Ho Van Han also said that the institute is making efforts to deploy electronic medical records, although the implementation process still faces many difficulties. To ensure the right progress, the unit will send an official dispatch to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health requesting to participate in the electronic medical records appraisal council at the institute on September 24.

DONATION - XUAN MAI

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/cac-benh-vien-chay-dua-ap-dung-benh-an-dien-tu-20250918232957205.htm