Deputy Minister of Health Trần Văn Thuấn. — VNA/VNS Photo Văn Dũng

Professor Trần Văn Thuấn, Deputy Minister of Health, speaks to the Sức khỏe & Đời sống (Health and Life) (under the ministry) about improving the quality of medical services.

What is the role of quality management in medical examinations and treatment?

At the beginning of last year, the Ministry of Health (MoH) submitted the amended Law on Medical Examination and Treatment to the National Assembly for promulgation with a patient-centred perspective.

This further motivated hospitals to actively improve quality and ensure patient safety.

When the nation and the world are developing rapidly, especially the fourth revolution that has a profound impact on the entire society, information technology (IT) application will help hospitals operate safely, effectively and with high quality.

Hospitals need to promote electronic medical records, apply IT solutions in improving medical examination and treatment such as making medical appointments on applications, non-cash payments and electronic prescriptions.

In hospital quality management, the health sector has effectively implemented the Circular No 19/2013/TT-BYT issued on July 12, 2013 guiding quality management at hospitals.

The MoH deploys a set of criteria for evaluating hospital quality, guiding medical examination in the direction of applying the most convenient process and reducing procedural requirements for patients having health insurance.

Hospitals at all levels, including district levels, after applying 83 quality criteria, have had a clear and increasing improvement.

Recently, the MoH chose Thái Nguyên Central Hospital to organise the Quality Management - Patient Safety Forum so that delegates attending the forum would have an opportunity to witness one of the hospitals that actively improved quality and achieved very encouraging results.

Over the past years, Thái Nguyên Central Hospital has strived to enhance from spacious and clean facilities to their professional qualifications and attitudes to better serve patients. Since the 83 quality criteria were applied, the hospital’s patients increased by more than 20 per cent.

If hospitals do well in quality management and patient safety, the medical system will develop sustainably and serve the people better. ​

How is the medical system improved?

In the past years, the health sector and hospitals have had many solutions to improve medical services quality, from promoting scientific and technical advances application to improving healthcare services and administrative procedures.

The health sector’s achievements have put Việt Nam in the top 10 countries which are quickly completing the millennium development goals in health.

In addition, the health sector has caught up with the medical level of countries in the region and the world.

The system of hospitals from central to local levels has invested and applied high-tech equipment and techniques, bringing a lot of hope and new life to patients.

Through the satellite hospital project, many lower-level hospitals have been transferred new, modern technology, improving their reputation and expertise, attracting local patients and reducing overload for higher level hospitals.

In particular, in the field of obstetrics and paediatrics, up to 98 per cent of patients have been examined and treated at lower-level hospitals.

Remote medical examination and treatment have also been promoted. Currently, the system has connected 1,400 hospitals at different levels to improve the quality of lower-level medical care, making it easier for upper-level experts to provide quick and effective support for lower level doctors and advise for difficult cases. The people now can enjoy high technical achievements right in their localities.

In addition, since 2013, the MoH has implemented the project "Sending young volunteer doctors to mountainous, remote, border, island, and economically disadvantaged areas”. Priority is given to 62 poor districts.

To date, a total of 632 doctors in 149 disadvantaged districts of 36 provinces have trained in this special method.

Doctors trained from the project have deployed many difficult techniques and complicated cases, helping patients not have to be transferred to higher levels for treatment.

In the oncology field, we have more oncology hospitals at provincial level such as Nghệ An and Thanh Hóa.

This trend shows that people are benefiting from high technology in their own localities, without having to go to the capital.

People with high technical needs have been largely met in big cities such as Hà Nội and HCM City, with no need to go abroad because our capacity is equivalent to advanced countries in the region.

On the contrary, we see more and more foreign patients, even from developed countries, coming to Việt Nam for medical examination and treatment due to high efficiency and reasonable costs.

The MoH has promoted administrative procedure reform through strongly simplifying health insurance procedures, reducing waiting time and applying IT in medical work.

If hospitals actively improve quality, we can believe that, in the near future, Việt Nam will have more hospitals meeting regional and world standards, thereby attracting foreigners and people who can afford to use medical-tourism services in Việt Nam, contributing to economic development and heighten the country's image. — VNS