Announcement of the Acting President's Order on the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment

On the morning of February 3, at the Presidential Palace, the Office of the President held a press conference to announce the Order of the Acting President promulgating the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, which was passed by the 15th National Assembly at its 2nd extraordinary session on January 9, 2023. Deputy Head of the Office of the President Pham Thanh Ha chaired the press conference.

Báo Nhân dân•03/02/2023

The need to enact the Law

To develop the draft Law on Medical Examination and Treatment (amended) to specify the guidelines and policies of the Party and State, overcome limitations and shortcomings, resolve newly arising issues to develop and improve the quality of medical services for people in the direction of fairness, quality, efficiency, development and international integration; to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, order, discipline and discipline of state management of medical examination and treatment activities.

The viewpoint of drafting the document is to continue to promptly and fully institutionalize the policies and guidelines of the Party and State on strengthening the protection, care and improvement of people's health in the new situation. Taking patients as the center of all activities of providing medical examination and treatment services on the basis of increasing access to high-quality medical examination and treatment services in accordance with international practices.

Continue to implement the policy of socialization and diversification of medical services with the active participation of professional associations, practitioners and patients; ensure fairness between state and private medical examination and treatment facilities. Innovate mechanisms to ensure the rights of patients associated with the responsibilities of practitioners and medical examination and treatment facilities, as well as the rights of practitioners and medical examination and treatment facilities associated with the responsibilities of patients and their relatives. Focus on accelerating administrative procedure reform, applying information technology in medical examination and treatment activities. Ensure constitutionality, legality, consistency, synchronization, feasibility, conformity with international legal standards on medical examination and treatment and ensure gender equality.

New contents of the Law

The Law on Medical Examination and Treatment No. 15/2023/QH15 consists of 12 chapters and 121 articles with basic new points such as: Improving professional skills, strengthening management of practitioners' activities; improving the quality of medical examination and treatment services, increasing people's access to medical examination and treatment services; innovating a number of regulations related to conditions for ensuring implementation of medical examination and treatment activities.

Regarding improving the quality of service provision of medical examination and treatment facilities, the Law has added a mandatory provision requiring facilities to self-assess the quality of medical examination and treatment according to the basic quality standards issued by the Ministry of Health periodically every year and to update the self-assessment results to the Information System on management of medical examination and treatment activities to serve as a basis for inspection, assessment as well as public information on the quality level of medical examination and treatment facilities.

At the same time, it is necessary to supplement regulations that medical examination and treatment facilities must apply information technology with the aim of gradually connecting medical examination and treatment results between medical examination and treatment facilities, creating convenience for patients and at the same time being a solution to manage the practice activities of organizations and individuals.

Regarding enhancing people's access to medical examination and treatment services: Change from 4 professional levels to 3 professional levels; allow private clinics in areas with particularly difficult socio-economic conditions to organize beds for monitoring and treating patients, but not exceeding 72 hours.

Develop telemedicine to contribute to achieving universal health coverage by improving patient access to quality, cost-effective health services anytime, anywhere, especially for less serious, chronic diseases that require long-term and regular care.

Regarding the innovation of some regulations related to conditions for ensuring implementation of medical examination and treatment activities, the Law specifically stipulates the State's policies in training human resources for medical examination and treatment such as: There are policies to encourage and motivate students majoring in psychiatry, pathology, forensic medicine, forensic psychiatry, infectious diseases and emergency resuscitation; 100% tuition support and living expenses support during the entire course for students majoring in psychiatry, pathology, forensic medicine, forensic psychiatry, infectious diseases and emergency resuscitation if studying at training institutions belonging to the State's health sector.

Support tuition fees and living expenses for the entire course for students majoring in one of the following majors: psychiatry, pathology, forensic medicine, forensic psychiatry, infectious diseases and emergency resuscitation, corresponding to the level specified in Point 2 of this Clause, if studying at private health training institutions.

At the same time, the Law supplements a number of financial regulations such as: supplementing specific regulations on autonomy for State medical examination and treatment facilities, in which the Law affirms that "State medical examination and treatment facilities are guaranteed funding by the State to perform functions and tasks assigned by competent State agencies". Supplementing regulations on forms of resource mobilization, in which it affirms that medical examination and treatment facilities are allowed to borrow capital to invest in infrastructure works, medical equipment; rent, lease assets, clinical services, paraclinical services, non-medical services, pharmacy services, management and operation of medical examination and treatment facilities; purchase on deferred payment, installment payment; rent, borrow medical equipment...

Law on Medical Examination and Treatment No. 15/2023/QH15 takes effect from January 1, 2024.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/cong-bo-lenh-cua-quyen-chu-tich-nuoc-ve-luat-kham-benh-chua-benh-post737081.html