Hanoi accelerates digital transformation in healthcare

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

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

Electronic medical records help optimize management processes, reduce operating costs, improve information security and demonstrate professionalism in medical examination and treatment activities.

In addition, out of 48 non-public hospitals in the area, only 9 units have implemented electronic medical records, reaching a rate of 18.75%. This is a low number, showing that this group of hospitals is facing the risk of not completing the progress as required by the Government .

Faced with the above situation, the Hanoi Department of Health organized a progress commitment signing with representatives of hospital leaders, requiring each unit to be responsible for completing electronic medical records on time. The signing of the commitment demonstrates the consensus and high determination of the entire health sector in the capital in the goal of 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 medical facilities.

For patients, digitalized medical records help reduce paperwork, easily look up information through electronic health books, save time for medical examination and treatment, and proactively monitor long-term health status.

For medical staff, the electronic system helps to look up records quickly and accurately, supports effective diagnosis and treatment, and minimizes medical errors. Doctors signing digitally instead of writing by hand not only saves time but also supports remote consultation and shares professional information more conveniently.

For hospitals, electronic medical records help optimize management processes, reduce operating costs, improve information security and demonstrate professionalism in medical examination and treatment activities. According to estimates, hospitals can save tens of billions of dong each year by reducing paper printing, film printing, physical record storage...

To ensure progress and effectiveness of implementation, the Hanoi Department of Health requested the Ministry of Health to continue to direct strongly, especially with the group of non-public hospitals. Directors and heads of units need to promote the pioneering role in digital transformation, proactively removing difficulties and obstacles in the implementation process.

In addition, the Department also emphasized the importance of strengthening communication and raising awareness of digital transformation throughout the system, including officers, employees and workers at medical facilities.

Each unit needs to prioritize investment in technology infrastructure, human resources and resources to complete electronic medical records before September 30, and at the same time carry out digital transformation of all medical examination and treatment activities according to the directed roadmap.

Previously, at the end of July 2025, according to a report from the National Center for Health Information (Ministry of Health), up to now, only 212 medical facilities nationwide have officially announced the implementation of EMR, accounting for about 7.5% of the total of more than 2,800 public medical facilities. This is a rather modest number compared to the requirements.

In reality, the implementation of EMR in medical facilities still faces many difficulties. One of the biggest barriers is the financial problem.

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

In addition, many hospitals said they are still confused due to the lack of legal framework and the lack of specific regulations on technical and economic standards for information technology investment packages such as RIS/PACS or digital signatures.

This greatly affects the progress of purchasing, deploying and operating the system. The lack of specialized IT human resources also makes maintaining and exploiting the EMR system challenging.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quy Tuong, Chairman of the Vietnam Medical Informatics Association, said that the biggest problem is the financial mechanism, because to deploy EMR, hospitals need to invest a lot in technology infrastructure, but not all hospitals have enough capital. Therefore, the number of hospitals deploying EMR 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.

On the part of the Ministry of Health, this agency is coordinating with relevant ministries and branches to research and adjust policies, including adding information technology costs to management costs in hospital fees, and at the same time issuing technical standards and instructions on the use of EMR, RIS/PACS, digital signature systems... to create a complete legal corridor for medical facilities to deploy EMR in a unified and effective manner.

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