Digital health must reach further ground

Digital health must reach further ground, photo Le Toan

Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital is implementing the “Bach Mai care” app on mobile phones so that people can make an appointment before coming to the clinic, manage their health records, and consult doctors.

Since November, the hospital has implemented electronic medical records, two months ahead of the initial plan. Thanks to this, people can pre-register for an appointment by phone, via the app or website, and choose a doctor or specialist per their most convenient schedule.

Hospital director Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dao Xuan Co said that all information on health status, medical history, and treatment is now stored and managed online.

“The hospital has entered all patient data into electronic medical records and when examining patients, there is no need to print x-rays. With just these steps, the hospital is expected to save nearly VND100 billion ($4 million) each year,” he said.

As the central-level hospital, it now receives 6,000-8,000 patients on average. Thus, tech is helping to cut waiting times as well as improve service quality.

Currently, Bach Mai Hospital and Cho Ray Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City have been assigned by the Ministry of Health (MoH) to be the focal points for connecting medical data. Once successful, this model will be deployed to hospitals nationwide.

Similarly, E Hospital in Hanoi has invested heavily in IT infrastructure to support digital transformation activities. Management software systems, cashless payments, and apps have been effectively deployed, helping patients easily access medical services.

At Duc Giang General Hospital, also in the capital, patients make an appointment similar to booking a plane ticket, choosing a department and an appointment time. After arriving at the hospital, people do not have to queue, but simply scan a code to go straight to the doctor’s office, with all information available on the system. The hospital has 12,000 chronic outpatient records, and all paper records have now been entered into the system.

Luong Dinh Trung, doctor at Duc Giang,s said, “We haven’t been required to print x-rays for years, and all paraclinical data such as tests, scans, ultrasounds, endoscopy of patients are updated to the hospital management software. Now, doctors only need patient codes to be able to access information on the management software.”

The MoH has issued many policies to encourage digital transformation. Its administrative settlement information system boasts full function, according to the government’s rulings on implementing a one-stop mechanism.

The ministry builds and maintains a medical disclosure portal, a portal for publicising prices of medical equipment and drugs, diagnostic biological products, medical examination and treatment costs, and information about products in circulation, being recalled, and bidding.

In addition, the MoH has connected over 50 online public services to the national single window portal to implement admin procedures related to the export, import, and transit of goods in the health sector. It has promoted the application of IT in the management of medical treatment and health insurance payment appraisals, and also connected health departments and Vietnam Social Security in all provinces and cities.

According to the MoH, all such service facilities have deployed the hospital information system, most facilities have deployed the Laboratory Information System test management software, and many hospitals utilise a medical image archiving and transmission system to save time, costs, and protect the environment.

In 2025, the ministry plans to continue to improve the legal framework to facilitate and overcome institutional bottlenecks for digital transformation in healthcare by reviewing and amending legal regulations on connection, data exploitation, and ensuring security, safety, and confidentiality in healthcare activities on digital platforms.

Despite the efforts, experts said that the application of technology and digitalisation of healthcare is still slow.

“Although the world’s healthcare is rapidly shifting to smart healthcare and digitalising medical records, in Vietnam, this still faces many barriers. E-records and telemedicine have not been widely deployed, and too many hospitals still use manual paperwork,” said Tran Quy Tuong, chairman of the Vietnam Medical Informatics Association.

Dr. Nguyen Van Thuong, director of Duc Giang, said, “Digitalisation has met 85 per cent of the operational processes in the hospital. To achieve the strong transformation we’ve seen over the past four years, the biggest initial difficulty was the resources used in infrastructure, transmission lines, internal network systems, servers, and virtual traffic systems in the hospital, which have gradually been dealt with.”

According to the Vietnam Medical Informatics Association, the MoH must offer more regulations on financial mechanisms so that public hospitals have funds to implement e-records.

“Currently, there are no specific guidelines on financial sanctions for the application of medical IT, and implementation of electronic records in particular. Hospitals mainly use the unit’s development investment fund to apply IT, affecting other hospital activities,” Tuong explained. “The IT level of medical staff is still lacking and weak at medical examination and treatment facilities nationwide.”

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