Digital transformation to improve the quality of medical services

Reduce workload for doctors and patients

The Examination Department of the Xanh Pon General Hospital ( Hanoi ) is undergoing a strong transformation in medical examination and treatment. Previously, the registration area was always crowded, people had to queue up and wait for a long time, but now, this situation no longer exists. The hospital has deployed an automatic kiosk system, allowing people to simply use their citizen identification card (CCCD) to enter data and get an automatic medical examination number.

Mr. Duong Huu Nam, a patient in Dong Da district (Hanoi) said that the medical examination and treatment procedures at Xanh Pon General Hospital are now very quick. Patients only need to bring their ID card, no other documents are needed. Although there are still many patients, there is no longer a state of congestion or overload. Patients can receive results and go home more quickly.

Another hospital that is also promoting digital transformation in medical examination and treatment is Ha Dong General Hospital (Hanoi). Patient Hoang Thi Mai, residing in Quoc Oai district (Hanoi) shared: “Thanks to the kiosk, I do not have to wait long. When I insert my ID card into the kiosk, my name and clinic number automatically appear, thereby significantly shortening the waiting time compared to before.”

According to doctors at the High Quality Clinic of the Examination Department (Ha Dong General Hospital), the application of technology helps the examination and treatment process become more effective. “Previously, we had to print films to return to patients. If patients lost the films, the comparison of results would be affected. Now, results are returned online, patients can store and scan QR codes to look up old results when needed; each doctor can examine about 50 patients/day. The application of technology helps shorten the time for examination and treatment, saving both doctors and patients time.

Mr. Dinh Cong Dung, Deputy Head of the Information Technology Department (Ha Dong General Hospital) said that the hospital receives about 1,000 outpatients every day and is deploying 3 main systems for electronic medical records, including: Hospital Information System (HIT), Laboratory Information Management System (LIS), Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS). Thanks to that, doctors do not need to use film, instead, images from X-ray machines are transmitted through the PACS system.

Test results and diagnoses will be automatically updated into the system, helping doctors diagnose immediately. Patients can also access the system to receive their medical examination and treatment results via the QR code on the result form. Ha Dong General Hospital is striving to complete the electronic medical record assessment by the end of June 2025.

The "problem" of investing in digitalization

According to Dr. Nguyen Duc Long, Director of Xanh Pon General Hospital, the hospital has identified digital transformation as one of its strategic goals. Digital transformation not only improves the quality of health care, but also creates a foundation for scientific research and the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in healthcare . The hospital has implemented many initiatives in Project 06 (developing data applications on population, identification and electronic authentication to serve national digital transformation in the period 2022 - 2025, with a vision to 2030), including a smart kiosk system connecting data on VNeID, helping to reduce administrative procedures and waiting time for patients.

By January 2024, Xanh Pon General Hospital had connected medical examination and treatment data to the electronic health book on the VNeID and iHanoi applications. This connection helps patients look up their medical examination and treatment history, prescriptions and test results without having to carry paper records, saving time and minimizing the loss of medical documents.

The hospital is also the first unit to deploy digital signatures for patients on treatment cost statements and has digitized all administrative procedures. In 2025, Xanh Pon General Hospital plans to cooperate with domestic and foreign partners to apply AI to medical examination and treatment activities, leading in digital transformation of healthcare.

Although hospitals have been implementing digital transformation strongly, there are still many difficulties. According to Dr. Nguyen Ngo Quang, Director of the Department of Science, Technology and Training ( Ministry of Health ), the implementation of electronic medical records in hospitals faces many barriers, from information technology infrastructure, awareness of hospital leaders, to financial mechanisms and information technology level of medical staff.

According to the Ministry of Health's report, as of April 2025, only 11 hospitals in Hanoi have deployed electronic medical records, accounting for about 26% of the total number of hospitals in the city. To achieve the goal of having 100% of hospitals nationwide deploy electronic medical records by the end of 2025, there are still many challenges, especially financial issues to invest in technology and human resource training.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quy Tuong, Chairman of the Vietnam Medical Informatics Association, said that the biggest problem is the financial mechanism, because to implement electronic medical records, hospitals need to invest a lot in technology infrastructure, but not all hospitals have enough capital. Therefore, the number of hospitals implementing electronic medical records is still modest compared to the total number of medical examination and treatment facilities nationwide.

Although there are still many challenges, with the determination of medical facilities and support from the Government, digital transformation in healthcare will certainly be an important step forward, contributing to improving the quality of healthcare for people.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/chuyen-doi-so-nham-nang-chat-luong-dich-vu-y-te-d289625.html