Strengthening guidance to avoid testing abuse and improve the quality of medical examination and treatment

Debate with the Minister of Health , delegate Duong Khac Mai - National Assembly Delegation of Dak Nong province mentioned the issue of patients having to buy medicine outside when going to the hospital. This is a reality that many voters are concerned about and reflect. "In the question and answer session on November 7, the Minister of Health emphasized that the rights of patients and insurance participants must be guaranteed. This is a very legitimate and necessary requirement" - Delegate Duong Khac Mai said.

According to delegate Duong Khac Mai, patients who have to go to the hospital and buy medicine outside at very expensive prices are not affordable for everyone. Therefore, the delegate requested the Minister of Health to direct coordination with the Health Insurance Agency to have timely solutions for patients when participating in insurance, medical examination and treatment, especially ensuring the rights of poor patients with difficult economic conditions.

Delegate Duong Khac Mai also shared with the Minister and the health sector that recently, having enough medicine and medical equipment has been very difficult.

Delegates hope that the Government and relevant ministries and branches will coordinate with the Ministry of Health to ensure people's rights and provide good health care for the people.

Responding to the delegates, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that the Ministry of Health has strengthened its direction to avoid testing abuse.

Responding to delegate Duong Khac Mai about payment for health insurance patients who have to go out to buy medicine because medical facilities do not have enough medicine to supply, Minister Dao Hong Lan said that the Ministry of Health has given specific instructions.

"Yesterday afternoon, the Ministry of Health met to discuss these contents to have a specific plan. The Ministry of Health is actively directing the implementation so that when there is an official draft, it will seek opinions from local ministries and branches," Minister Dao Hong Lan informed, emphasizing specific regulations on which conditions patients are eligible for health insurance payments and which regulations to avoid abuse require strict legal regulations.

Responding to the question of Delegate Nguyen Huu Thong - National Assembly Delegation of Binh Thuan province about fundamental solutions to overcome the situation of overusing test indications, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that the application of modern paraclinical equipment supports many processes of diagnosis, treatment and post-treatment monitoring.

With the development of science and technology, there are many good devices that help detect diseases early, creating more opportunities for effective treatment. In recent times, the health sector has strengthened to have better equipment to serve the examination and treatment of patients.

The Minister of Health also said that recently there has been a situation of over-use of testing, causing unnecessary costs for patients and causing psychological distress for patients, while also affecting the Health Insurance Fund - a fund for the whole people, and the responsibility of agencies, sectors and people for the Fund to develop, stabilize and serve the people.

The Minister pointed out that the main group of causes is the awareness and level of the person who prescribes the test, wanting it to be quick and accurate, which requires direction to have the most reasonable awareness of testing. In addition, the socialization of joint ventures requires capital recovery, leading to a lot of testing. On the other hand, patients also have a need for testing.

Faced with the above situation, the Ministry of Health has strengthened its direction to avoid testing abuse and improve the quality of medical examination and treatment. Most recently, the newly passed Law on Medical Examination and Treatment has many regulations on this issue, Decision 316/2016/QD-TTG on testing, along with circulars regulating technical standards, payment ceilings, strengthening health insurance appraisal, and interconnection to control costs.

Source