Therefore, the Department of Health has sent a document to the Ministry of Health requesting an extension for completing the EMR dossier implementation until March 2026.
Electronic medical records - many benefits
As of September 30th, 16 medical facilities in the province have successfully implemented EMR records, ensuring compliance with regulations, including: Dong Nai General Hospital, Thong Nhat General Hospital, Dermatology Hospital, Dong Nai Children's Hospital, Dinh Quan Regional General Hospital, and regional health centers in Nhon Trach, Trang Bom, Tan Phu, etc.
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| Dong Nai General Hospital announced the implementation of electronic medical records on September 12th. Photo: Minh Tai |
Speaking at the launch ceremony of the EMR Management System at Dong Nai 2 Hospital, Dr. Nguyen Van Binh, Deputy Director of the Dong Nai Provincial Department of Health, said: The units implementing the system have initially demonstrated its effectiveness: reducing administrative procedures, supporting treatment, managing patient records scientifically, and facilitating data retrieval and sharing.
Dr. Tran Minh Tai, Deputy Head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, shared his experience working at Long Khanh Regional General Hospital for 11 years: "Since the hospital implemented EMR, doctors no longer have to carry around paper records every day for patient examinations. Not only that, with just a click of the mouse, all information about the patient's medical history, number of hospitalizations, medication use, etc., is readily available, eliminating the need for laborious searching as with paper records."
"We've saved about 70% of the time compared to the previous paper-based medical record keeping. The work has become less stressful," added Dr. Tai.
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| Dong Nai Provincial Dermatology Hospital is on the list of hospitals that publish electronic medical records on the Ministry of Health's information portal. Photo: Minh Tai |
According to Dr. Dao Tan Hiep, Deputy Director of the Dong Nai Provincial Dermatology Hospital, although it has only recently been implemented, the hospital's departments and wards have already adopted EMR and electronic prescriptions.
“With financial support from the Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Health, we have invested in information technology infrastructure: firewall systems, servers, workstations, digital signatures… to implement EMR. Data security is also very important, therefore, we have tendered and selected the optimal solution, coordinating with partners to ensure smooth operation,” Dr. Hiep explained.
Funding difficulties
According to the Department of Health, the Provincial People's Committee has invested over 39.4 billion VND to enable hospitals/medical centers with inpatient beds in the former Dong Nai province to implement EMR. In recent times, medical facilities have actively implemented and standardized information technology infrastructure and EMR record software.
Furthermore, in April 2025, the People's Committee of Binh Phuoc province (formerly) issued Official Document No. 1781/UBND-KGVX approving the adjustment of the investment plan to supplement the investment in the EMR information system with an implementation cost of approximately 58 billion VND; assigning the Department of Science and Technology as the investor, in coordination with the Department of Finance, the Department of Health, and other relevant units for implementation.
Accordingly, six medical examination and treatment facilities in the province, including the former Binh Phuoc Provincial General Hospital, the Provincial Traditional Medicine Hospital, and the health centers of the districts and towns of Phuoc Long, Binh Long, Loc Ninh, and Bu Dang (currently known as the Phuoc Long, Binh Long, Loc Ninh, and Bu Dang Regional Health Centers), implemented EMR.
The province has 29 public hospitals/medical centers with inpatient beds, including: 17 units under the Dong Nai Provincial Department of Health (before restructuring), and 12 units under the former Binh Phuoc Provincial Department of Health. To date, 16 out of 17 units under the former Dong Nai Provincial Department of Health have implemented EMR, and 4 out of 12 private hospitals with inpatient beds have implemented EMR. The units under the former Binh Phuoc Provincial Department of Health have not yet implemented EMR.
However, due to the reorganization of the provincial-level administrative apparatus, the implementation has been slower than planned. Currently, according to a report from the Department of Science and Technology of Dong Nai province, these units are in the process of posting bidding information on the National Bidding Network System. The bidding will close after 20 days as stipulated. It is expected that contracts will be signed in November 2025 and the announcement will be completed in the first quarter of 2026.
The Department of Health of Dong Nai province continues to implement the EMR (Emergency Medical Respiratory Mechanism) program for 6 units under the former Department of Health of Binh Phuoc province as planned. However, on September 18th, the Department of Finance responded in Official Letter No. 3651/STC-HCSN regarding the funding for the implementation of EMR at 6 regional health centers with inpatient beds. In this letter, the Department of Finance requested the Department of Health to allocate funds from the non-autonomous budget of the task "Funding for the implementation of EMR at hospitals/health centers with inpatient beds: VND 39,420 million," which had been assigned to the Department of Health for implementation in 2025.
For 2026, the Department of Health will prepare a comprehensive budget estimate for the implementation of EMR (Emergency Management Reporting) within the overall budget of the health sector for 2026 and submit it to the Department of Finance for advice to the Provincial People's Committee to present to the Provincial People's Council as prescribed. At the same time, the Department of Health is requested to direct its affiliated public service units to review and balance their resources from the unit's operational development fund (if any) to implement EMR. If the unit's operational development fund is insufficient, the affiliated unit should report to the Department of Health for consolidation and allocation as prescribed.
Furthermore, according to Dr. Le Quang Trung, Deputy Director of the Department of Health, the fact that the health sector could not meet the Ministry of Health's deadline for completing the EMR by September 30th is due to many objective and subjective reasons.
Specifically, the information technology infrastructure at many healthcare facilities, especially those at the regional level, is limited and inconsistent. Network connectivity and hardware equipment do not meet the requirements for operating the EMR system. Investment in information technology, software, and security is limited and has not met the prescribed schedule.
In addition, the lack of allocated funds for the 6 units that have not yet implemented EMR requires the Department of Health to need more time to complete the implementation of EMR documentation in Dong Nai province...
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| Medical staff at Dong Nai 2 Hospital use electronic medical records. Photo: Minh Tai |
To ensure the synchronized, high-quality, and effective implementation of EMR, the Department of Health has sent a document to the Provincial People's Committee and the Ministry of Health for consideration and reporting to the Government to request an extension of the deadline for completing the EMR dossier implementation until the end of the first quarter of 2026.
Bich Nhan
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/y-te/202510/dong-nai-xin-gia-han-hoan-thanh-benh-an-dien-tu-41c3f57/
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