Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The expansion of remote medical examination andtreatment has helped both patients and healthcare workers, especially inmountainous and remote areas, access advanced techniques.

The Ministry of Health has carried out a project on remote medical examinationand treatment for the 2020-2025 period which aims to strengthen theprofessional capacity of grassroots-level healthcare establishments as well asspread the professional knowledge of doctors from central-level hospitals topeople and health workers across the country.

According to Assoc., Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, Director of the Medical Examinationand Treatment Department, technology used in examination and treatment throughthe telemedicine programme is a big change, with the goal of developing thehealthcare sector in a modern direction and approaching internationalstandards.

Technology makes communication easier between medical facilities across thecountry with a huge amount of information exchanged directly at any time.

Advances in technology give doctors more time in the race to save lives.

“For example, echocardiography is a difficult technique in medicine. Thanks tothe technology and telemedicine programme, doctors in Hanoi can monitor theechocardiography for patients in mountainous and remote areas,” the directorsaid.

“Doctors at central-level hospitals can coordinate with doctors in many otherprovinces and cities to consult and treat severe cases at grassroots healthcarefacilities so patients do not need transferring to other hospitals,” he said.

Currently, people can book medical examinations and treatment appointments inmany hospitals by phone, or through internet applications without having toqueue and register.

Thanks to the technology application in medical examination and treatment,patients not only have access to advanced medical examination and treatmentservices but also save time, costs and reduce risks during treatment.

According to Khue, during the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, the medicalexamination and treatment system has continuously increased the application ofinformation technology solutions and digital transformation, contributing toimproving the quality of medical examination and treatment in the country.

"More than 3,000 cases have been consulted for medical examination andtreatment remotely. Over 1,100 consultation sessions were conducted with 32,000online locations, 155 patients with critical condition were saved,” Khue said.

“However, nearly 38% of healthcare establishments have not yet implementedautomatic queuing to ensure fairness for patients. And cash payment forhospital fees still accounts for nearly 30%," he said.

The Ministry of Health will continue to review and complete policies oninformation technology and digital transformation in medical examination andtreatment and issue the circular on e-prescribing; telemedicine, and fees fortelemedicine and consultation.

Therefore, hospitals need to strictly implement documents of the Government andMinistry of Health on information technology and digital transformation as wellas improve the capability of informatics staff.

According to Nguyen Truong Nam, vice director of the Informatics Department(Health Ministry), healthcare is one of the eight priorities of nationaldigital transformation specified in the Government's Decision No. 749/QD-TTg.

Under the decree, all public healthcare facilities must establish telemedicinesections, build and gradually form a healthcare and disease prevention systembased on digital technologies, and comprehensively apply digital technology atmedical examination and treatment facilities so as to contribute toadministrative reform, reducing overloading in hospitals, and improve thequality of medical examination and treatment.

The public hospitals will use electronic medical records and hospital feepayments, forming smart hospitals and smart health management platforms basedon digital technology, integrating information and data in order to form anational database on health.

Medical facilities deploy the initiative "Each Citizen Has a PersonalDoctor" with the goal that each person has a digital record of personalhealth that they are consulted and cared for by doctors, contributing toforming a complete digital healthcare system from primary health care,prevention to treatment.

Additionally, a legal corridor should be set up to facilitate remote medicalexamination and treatment and e-prescriptions for patients to ensure thatpeople can contact doctors quickly and efficiently to reduce costs ofexamination, treatment and patient transfer as well./.