Hanoi accelerates digital transformation in healthcare.

According to information from the Hanoi Department of Health, as of September 11th, 25 out of 42 public hospitals in the city (equivalent to 59.52%) have completed the implementation of electronic medical records to serve the examination and treatment of patients.

The list of 25 completed public hospitals includes: Saint Paul Hospital, Hanoi Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Hanoi Oncology Hospital, Dong Anh Hospital, Van Dinh Hospital, Hoe Nhai Hospital, Soc Son Hospital, Ba Vi Hospital, Quoc Oai Hospital, My Duc Hospital, Hanoi Pediatric Hospital, Ha Dong Hospital, Vietnam-Cuba Hospital, Nam Thang Long Hospital, Phu Xuyen Hospital, Hoai Duc Hospital, Me Linh Hospital, Son Tay Hospital, Dong Da Hospital, Chuong My Hospital, Thuong Tin Hospital, Phuc Tho Hospital, Thach That Hospital, Hanoi Heart Hospital, and Hanoi Kidney Hospital.

Electronic medical records optimize management processes, reduce operating costs, enhance information security, and demonstrate professionalism in healthcare services.

Furthermore, among the 48 private hospitals in the area, only 9 have implemented electronic medical records, achieving a rate of 18.75%. This is a low number, indicating that this group of hospitals is facing the risk of not meeting the government 's requirements on schedule.

In response to this situation, the Hanoi Department of Health organized a progress commitment signing ceremony with representatives from the leadership of various hospitals, requiring each unit to be responsible for completing electronic medical records on time. This commitment demonstrates the consensus and strong determination of the entire Hanoi health sector in achieving comprehensive digital transformation.

According to Dr. Nguyen Dinh Hung, Deputy Director in charge of the Hanoi Department of Health, electronic medical records bring many practical benefits to both patients and healthcare facilities.

For patients, digitized medical records help minimize paperwork, make it easy to look up information through electronic health records, save time on medical examinations and treatments, and proactively monitor their long-term health status.

From the perspective of healthcare professionals, the electronic system enables quick and accurate record retrieval, supporting effective diagnosis and treatment while minimizing medical errors. Doctors signing digitally instead of by hand not only saves time but also facilitates remote consultations and more convenient sharing of professional information.

For hospitals, electronic medical records optimize management processes, reduce operating costs, enhance information security, and demonstrate professionalism in healthcare services. It is estimated that hospitals can save tens of billions of dong annually by reducing paper printing, film printing, and physical record storage.

To ensure the progress and effectiveness of implementation, the Hanoi Department of Health requests the Ministry of Health to continue providing decisive guidance, especially to the group of private hospitals. Directors and heads of units need to play a pioneering role in digital transformation, proactively resolving difficulties and obstacles during the implementation process.

Furthermore, the Department also emphasized the importance of strengthening communication and raising awareness about digital transformation throughout the system, including officials, staff, and workers at healthcare facilities.

Each unit needs to prioritize investment in technology infrastructure, human resources, and other resources to complete the electronic medical record system before September 30th, while simultaneously implementing the digital transformation of all medical examination and treatment activities according to the directed roadmap.

Previously, at the end of July 2025, a report from the National Health Information Center (Ministry of Health) indicated that only 212 medical facilities nationwide had officially announced the implementation of EMR, accounting for approximately 7.5% of the total of over 2,800 public medical facilities. This is a rather modest number compared to the requirements.

In reality, the implementation of EMR in healthcare facilities still faces many difficulties. One of the biggest obstacles is the financial challenge.

Autonomous hospitals must find their own funding sources for software, servers, terminal equipment, data storage, and digital signature costs. However, there are currently no regulations to include IT costs in the price of medical services, making investment planning difficult.

Furthermore, many hospitals reported that they are still struggling due to a lack of legal framework and specific regulations regarding economic and technical standards for information technology investment packages such as RIS/PACS or digital signatures.

This significantly impacts the procurement, deployment, and operation of the system. The lack of dedicated IT personnel also poses numerous challenges in maintaining and utilizing the EMR system.

Associate Professor Tran Quy Tuong, Chairman of the Vietnam Medical Informatics Association, believes that the biggest issue is the financial mechanism. Implementing EMR requires significant investment in technological infrastructure, but not all hospitals have sufficient funding. Therefore, the number of hospitals implementing EMR remains modest compared to the total number of medical facilities nationwide.

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

On the part of the Ministry of Health, it is coordinating with relevant ministries and agencies to research and adjust policies, including adding information technology costs to management costs in hospital fees, and simultaneously issuing technical standards and guidelines on the use of EMR, RIS/PACS, digital signature systems, etc., in order to create a complete legal framework for medical facilities to implement EMR in a unified and effective manner.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/ha-noi-tang-toc-chuyen-doi-so-y-te-d383746.html