HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam on Thursday asked Hà Nội to put in place an individual medical records system for local residents as soon as possible.

This will help provide better healthcare to people as well as improve the efficiency of clinics at ward and commune levels, Đam said during a visit to Tây Mỗ Ward Health Centre in Nam Từ Liêm District.

Studies show that many ward- and commune-level clinics have good facilities, but medical practitioners there don’t have much work, which affects their incomes and the quality of medical expertise available at the clinics.

“Currently, only four out of 10 people with health insurance come for health checks at grassroots-level clinics. In rural areas, many people never do check-ups when they are fine and only come to hospitals when they are seriously ill,” Đam said.

Maintaining an individual medical records system, which has each person’s detailed healthcare information, will encourage people to go for periodic check-ups, help them understand the benefits of buying health insurance, while generating more work for doctors at the grassroots level, which will improve both their income and expertise, Đam said.

Nguyễn Đức Chung, chairman of Hà Nội People’s Committee, told the deputy PM that by June 30, the city will develop and install a software to connect its 42 health centres at grassroots level.

The capital already has a resident database that is updated regularly, so they will only need to add a field on health information into the system, Chung said. “In the future, wherever people go in the city for a check-up, the information will be updated in the system.”

Explaining how it will work, Chung said “Each person will have his/her own code number. The health records will be confidential and only doctors will have access to it and that too with the patient’s permission.”

Nguyễn Khắc Hiền, director of the city’s health department, said their aim is to provide medical check-ups for every person once a year at local health centres.

The department is putting together demographic statistics and building software to establish and manage the individual medical record system, which is scheduled to be implemented on a large scale in June and completed in September, Hiền said.

Chung has requested the Government to support Hà Nội in conducting periodic check-ups for its people by clearing obstacles that health centres face in terms of operations and finances.

He also wants the State to allow Hà Nội to use the social insurance fund to cover the cost of digestive cancer screenings for around 2.35 million people above 40 years, a programme that was proposed by the city’s authority late last year. Under the current regulations, the social insurance fund does not cover the expense of early screening.

Đam said he welcomed the programme and would report the issue to the Government. — VNS