It is difficult to meet international standards when patients have to buy medical equipment and supplies themselves.

Patients waiting for examination at the Oncology Hospital - Photo: DUYEN PHAN

On May 22, Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital organized an international conference with the theme: "The role of international quality standards in improving the quality of treatment, care and patient safety".

Speaking at the conference, Mr. Nguyen Hoang Bac, Director of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, said that the quality of healthcare in the country has improved over time. However, to approach and integrate with the healthcare system in the world, our country's healthcare sector needs to have international quality standards.

According to Mr. Hoang Bac, "even though the health sector is aiming for international medical quality management criteria, if hospitals do not have good equipment, do not have good evaluations, do not have good appraisals, and fail to bid for equipment and supplies that patients still have to buy outside, then we cannot talk about patient safety and patient satisfaction."

Mr. Hoang Bac informed that in the current context, public hospitals are facing difficulties due to binding legal regulations, while the private hospital system can be more "open".

Therefore, many people say that this is a favorable time for private hospitals to develop, while public hospitals are facing some difficulties. The Government, the State, and the Ministry of Health are also actively removing these difficulties for public hospitals.

One issue that many people in the healthcare industry are talking about is how to retain talented doctors, but what about nurses and hospital administrators? In a society that is developing explosively in management models, hospitals also need to change to meet the management model.

To have higher quality human resources in the health sector, there must be mechanisms and investments in human resources, and there must be costs for doctors, nurses, and hospital operators to be trained and to study abroad. These are also obstacles in the public health system in terms of resources, policies, and revenue for infrastructure, etc.

"Public and private hospitals both expect more open policies, more favorable conditions, and more resources so that all hospitals have a legal corridor to develop as desired, with criteria to ensure patient safety and an excellent patient experience," Mr. Hoang Bac emphasized.

Present at the workshop, Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Tri Thuc emphasized that integration requires standardization of processes from training to management. The Ministry of Health will have programs and standards to standardize step by step so that hospitals can achieve international standards.

Mr. Ha Anh Duc - Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, Ministry of Health - said that if public hospitals do not transform themselves, they will fall behind and cannot enter the era of advancement.

According to Mr. Ha Anh Duc, applying international quality standards is not just for "international labeling", but is essentially a journey to transform medical culture - from passive, reactive care to proactive, systematic, patient-centered care.

Vietnam needs a suitable, step-by-step approach with a clear strategy from the central to the grassroots level to localize international standards, and this is a mandatory path if we want to build a modern, integrated and humane healthcare system.

THUY DUONG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/kho-dat-chuan-quoc-te-khi-nguoi-benh-con-phai-tu-mua-thiet-bi-vat-tu-y-te-20250522180215705.htm