The coronavirus pandemic continues to change daily life as everyone knows it. The same holds true for people wanting to speak with their doctors. Telemedicine is serving as a useful alternative to meeting with doctors..
Speaking at the launching ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said that that this platform and application will pave the way for digitalization in the health sector and the country’s digitalization orientation.
The telemedicine platform, developed by the Viettel Military Industry and Telecoms Group, includes health consultation, diagnosis and treatment, professional evaluation and operation consultation and technology transfer at a distance.
As the telemedicine will help to reduce the number of patients flocking to hospitals, it helps facilitate staffing of both large and small facilities that find themselves overwhelmed with patient overload; therefore, tens of thousands of Vietnam dong is saved yearly and people at every corner of the country will enjoy benefit of the new telemedicine.
At the event, doctors of the Hanoi Medical University Hospital used the remote medical examination and treatment platform to provide electrocardiographic consultation and ultrasound scans for people with chronic diseases to their peers in the general hospital of Muong Khuong district in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai.
They also connected online with their peers in the general hospital of Ha Tinh City in the Central Province of Ha Tinh to evaluate the condition of patients suffering stroke, and offered online check-up for a patient in Quang Xuong district of central Thanh Hoa province.
In the next phase when commercial 5G wireless broadband service with and the Internet of Things (IoT) will be launched, the telemedicine will be further developed. At that time, good doctors in everywhere in the world can participate in treatment of Vietnamese patients.
Mr. Phuc highly valued the collaboration between the Information and Communications sector and the health sector to accelerate digitalization in the health sector in order to improve medical service quality and healthcare. He also hailed medical workers and technologists and technology companies which have joined in the battle against Covid-19.
PM Phuc proposed the two ministries to accelerate digitalization in the health sector gradually forming digitalized –based treatment in infirmaries as well as develop technology platform for the healthcare. Moreover, ministries should complete legal corridor facilitating digitalization in the health sector. However, he reminded technology companies to take heed of protection of personal data.
The Ministry of Information and Communication and the government office must submit the national digitalization program to the Prime Minister in April. This is a significant step to help Vietnam accelerate digitalization in all fields of life.
