Home medical examinations for the public.

TP - Instead of waiting for patients to come to medical facilities, doctors in Ho Chi Minh City, carrying medical bags, ride motorbikes through every alley, knocking on every door to examine patients, detect risks early, and bring people back into the healthcare system.

From those trips, a quiet but profound transformation of primary healthcare is beginning: focusing on disease prevention and putting the people at the center.

Going from street to street, knocking on every door to find patients.

For the past few days, every morning at 6:30 a.m., Dr. Nguyen Van Gam, Director of the Hiep Phuoc Commune Health Station in Ho Chi Minh City, and his colleagues load their equipment onto their motorbikes and set off. Their destination isn't a hospital or clinic, but rather small alleys and residential areas near canals, where many elderly people, those with underlying health conditions, single individuals, or families facing hardship reside.

"The doctor's here, Mrs. Luan!" Hearing the call from her neighbor at the end of the small alley, Mrs. Doan Thi Luan (62 years old, Hiep Phuoc commune, Ho Chi Minh City) quickly put down the broom she was sweeping outside and hurried into the house to get her citizen ID card. Just a few minutes later, the front yard had become a special examination room. There was no reception counter, no waiting chairs, and no loudspeaker calling out queue numbers. On a plastic table, the doctors successively set out blood pressure monitors, blood glucose testing equipment, blood lipid and uric acid testing devices, along with many other medical instruments taken from a smart medical kit.

This was the first time in her life that a doctor had come to her home for a check-up. Previously, whenever she needed a health check-up, she had to hire a motorbike taxi or take a bus to a medical facility about 7km from her house. The cost of the check-up wasn't the biggest burden; it was the travel that made this woman in her 60s hesitate many times. There were days when she didn't feel any unusual symptoms, and she would tell herself, "I'll go for a check-up another day," then she would put it off week after week, month after month...

After carefully inquiring about her eating habits, sleep patterns, and daily activity levels, Dr. Nguyen Van Gam gently took a quick blood sample and checked her health indicators. With a history of hypertension and pre-diabetes, Mrs. Luan was a patient requiring continuous monitoring and treatment. Before leaving, Dr. Gam reminded her: “Remember to reduce your salt intake; it’s not good for your heart and kidneys. Since your house is near the river, try to walk more often; it’s both exercise and relaxation.”

After hearing the doctor's instructions, Mrs. Luan smiled brightly as if a burden had been lifted. "The free check-up was very thorough. The doctor asked about everything, from my diet to my daily life. It would be great if we could come back for a check-up every few months. Old people like us often want to go to the hospital but are hesitant because of the long distance," Mrs. Luan said.

Our next stop was Mrs. Tran Thi Ngoc Xoan (69 years old). For many years, she hadn't had a health check-up because she thought that since she didn't experience any pain, she was still healthy. Only after becoming a community health volunteer did she understand that many dangerous diseases like hypertension, diabetes, or dyslipidemia can silently progress for years without causing obvious symptoms.

“In the past, I thought that if there was no pain, there was no illness. Now I know that many diseases lie dormant in the body for decades. Today, I took the opportunity to check my blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. Everyone here is happy that the doctor came to our house. Some people wanted to go for a check-up but had limited finances , and some were too old to travel,” Mrs. Xoan recounted.

While the doctor was checking Mrs. Xoan's blood pressure, an elderly man over 80 years old, leaning on a cane, came over from the house next door. Hearing that a doctor had come for a check-up, he wanted to have his health checked as well. Situations like this occur almost daily since the model was implemented.

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“Every time we visit a patient's home, they direct us to another house for help. Some people have never had a regular health check-up before. There are also patients who have stopped taking their medication for too long. If we don't proactively go to their homes, it's very difficult to detect and treat these people,” Dr. Gam shared.

Building a healthcare system that is close to the people.

The case that Dr. Gam remembers most vividly is that of an elderly woman living alone. When the healthcare team arrived at her home, she had stopped taking her high blood pressure medication nearly a year ago because there was no one to take her to the doctor. That day, her blood pressure was very high. If she continued to discontinue treatment, the risk of stroke could occur at any time. Immediately afterward, she was reconnected to the health station's chronic disease management program to continue monitoring and receiving her regular medication.

Ho Chi Minh City is stepping up its campaign to provide health checkups for all citizens. (Photo: Van Son)

"What we worry about most is not the people currently hospitalized, but those who have disappeared from the healthcare system," said Dr. Gam, adding that healthcare teams not only detect new diseases but also track down patients who have left the treatment system, helping them rejoin their healthcare journey before it's too late.

Hiep Phuoc commune currently has 43 medical staff and 148 community health collaborators, divided into 7 health care teams. On their mobile motorbikes, they carry smart medical kits to each residential area to conduct screenings, measure blood pressure, check blood sugar, and screen for cardiovascular risks, diabetes, gout, and many other non-communicable diseases.

Unlike previous mobile health check-up programs, this model goes beyond a one-time examination. All health data is updated directly on the doctor's smartphone and synchronized with the health station's management software. Each citizen will gradually have their own electronic health record built for long-term monitoring.

On June 17th, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health announced that after more than two months of implementing the "Continuous Healthcare Teams in Residential Areas" in Hiep Phuoc, Bac Tan Uyen, and Dat Do communes, thousands of residents have accessed healthcare services right in their homes. In Hiep Phuoc commune alone, over 3,500 residents received medical examinations, including more than 1,500 elderly people. Many cases of hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and chronic lung disease were detected early before complications arose.

Behind these figures lies a shift in the approach of Ho Chi Minh City's healthcare sector. Instead of waiting for people to seek medical attention when symptoms appear, healthcare workers proactively visit people's homes to detect risks early, guide lifestyle adjustments, and continuously monitor health, shifting from treatment to prevention. This is a shift from patient management to health management, and from brief visits in clinics to long-term support within the community.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health announced that, as of June 15th, the city's public health platform had updated health data for over 2.31 million people. This is a crucial foundation for building electronic health records for each citizen, serving continuous health management, supporting disease prevention and early detection, and improving the effectiveness of healthcare.

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According to Associate Professor Dr. Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, initial results show that the model of continuous health care teams linked to residential areas is not simply a mobile medical examination activity, but a significant shift in the mindset of healthcare for the people. The health sector is aiming to build a system that is closer to the people, more proactive, and more humane, in which each citizen has an electronic health record and receives continuous health monitoring right from their place of residence.

Dr. Nguyen Van Gam, Director of Hiep Phuoc Commune Health Station (on the left), visits homes to examine and check blood sugar levels for residents. Photo: Van Son

At a meeting with the Department of Health and 102 wards, communes, and special zones on June 16th, the Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, Nguyen Phuoc Loc, emphasized that the nationwide health check-up program is not a short-term campaign but a crucial step in shifting from a treatment-oriented mindset to proactive healthcare. The city aims for every citizen to receive a health check-up at least once a year, while also enabling early detection and management of disease risks.

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Source: https://tienphong.vn/kham-benh-tai-nha-cho-nguoi-dan-post1852191.tpo