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Vietnam accelerates the use of electronic health records |
Electronic medical records are helpful
Electronic medical records are considered by the Ministry of Health as the core and starting point for digital transformation in the health sector.
At 8 a.m., 47-year-old patient Tran Huy Luan in Thu Duc City’s Linh Tay Ward arrived at Thu Duc City Hospital. He was prescribed biochemical blood tests, an ultrasound of the abdomen, and X-rays of the chest area.
After the test results were available, he returned to the original clinic and waited to receive his medication. It took him only about 80 minutes whereas he spent more than 3 hours before. A significant decrease in waiting time made him feel satisfied.
Being the first hospital in the country to pilot electronic health records since 2015, Thu Duc City Hospital has digitized all paper medical records and integrated into the software over 6,000 paper medical records, helping to store for a long time, convenient for statistical work, reports, scientific research, forecasts.
Dr. Vu Tri Thanh, Deputy Director in charge of Thu Duc City Hospital, said that electronic health records reduced the retrieval time markedly compared to paper medical records, from nearly 31 minutes to nearly 19 minutes. The hospital employee must resolve thousands of medical records each day, the amount of time saved is very significant, not to mention the utilities in storing and retrieving when needed.
Similarly, District 3-located Binh Dan Hospital has constantly promoted digital transformation to satisfy the requirements of more than 2,000 outpatients, nearly 900 inpatients per day from 2022 to now. Nearly all modules in medical records have been completed and operated smoothly, reaching 5/7 according to the Ministry of Health’s Circular 46/2018/TT-BYT on registration records.
According to Binh Dan Hospital’s chief nursing officer Vo Thuan Anh, nurses had to handwrite 5 forms on paper after caring for patients previously, which took a long time, now they have been integrated into 1 electronic form. Parameters such as pulse, temperature, and blood pressure of patients are automatically updated as soon as the nurse enters the data, extremely convenient, accurate and safe.
Transition is not as fast as expectation
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, the country has about 1,300 medical facilities, including about 135 hospitals of first grade or higher. However, only about 50 health facilities including public and private facilities have officially announced the transition from paper medical records to electronic health records. In Ho Chi Minh City, some units have implemented electronic health records such as Thu Duc City Hospital, University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital, Hung Vuong Hospital, Binh Dan Hospital, and Gia An 115 Hospital.
Up to now, 41/51 hospitals have developed plans to implement e-medical records, and 27/51 hospitals have ensured the implementation of digital health records in 2023 in accordance with the roadmap of the Ministry of Health. According to hospitals, it is necessary to have a large budget to invest in information technology systems and human resources.
However, this funding source is very difficult for self-financing hospitals because the cost of information technology has not been included in the price structure of technical services performed, so many places are still struggling to manage. Dr. Mai Duc Huy, Deputy Director of Saigon General Hospital, informed that the hospital has only implemented insurance at the basic level and will soon upgrade the hospital information system to level 6 to implement advanced health insurance, eliminating paper medical records.
Hospital leaders said that the implementation of electronic medical records should be carried out synchronously between infirmaries because a patient not only goes to one hospital but can be treated at many different hospitals; therefore if patients’ medical histories are not linked, the electronic medical records become a waste.
Recently, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan has asked the health sector to promote digital transformation by conducting non-cash payment of medical service costs, deploying electronic medical records, and not using paper medical records. Moreover, she urged the use of electronic prescriptions, citizen identity cards with chips as well as book online medical examination and treatment. As scheduled, by the end of 2025, all hospitals across the country must apply electronic medical records.
