Health examination at Bạch Mai Hospital in Hà Nội. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI - Hà Nội-based Bạch Mai Hospital, the leading healthcare facility in the north, will examine patients outside of regular working hours, until 9 pm from August 1.

Associate Professor Đào Xuân Cơ, the hospital’s director, said the medical examination hours would be expanded from 5pm to 9pm, with reception and some examination desks opened early from 5-6am to serve patients, especially those from distant locations.

This move aims to meet the recent surge in demand for health check-ups, while also achieving the goal of examining all patients during the day. Up to 10,000 patients visit the hospital every day for checkups, which causes congestion.

Departments within the hospital have taken action to alleviate the queues.

The hospital has been able to overcome its medicine and medical supply shortfall. The hospital unveiled a number of medical equipment systems earlier this year, including seven endoscopic surgical systems, 19 digestive endoscopy systems, three computed tomography scan machines, and four magnetic resonance imaging machines.

This is the first time that seven magnetic resonance imaging machines have been running simultaneously at Bạch Mai Hospital. Patients who have a scan indication can essentially be scanned on the same day without having to wait, Cơ said.

The modern equipment meant many more patients had come in for examination and treatment, he said.

The imaging and testing department would prioritise outpatients in the morning and inpatients in the afternoon and evening.

"With these arrangements, testing results are typically received in the early afternoon, allowing most patients who travel from faraway places to return home that same day. This is a great effort to help patients save money without having to rent accommodation to wait,” he said.

The hospital has also promoted digital transformation by assisting patients to register for medical examination and treatment via a hotline or app.

Every day between 2,000 and 2,500 people sign up for medical examinations via these new channels, according to Cơ.

Registering in advance helps to minimise crowding and waiting time is minimised. Additionally, it relieves doctors of pressure while improving the standard of medical examinations and consultations.

At the hospital, medical prescriptions have not been printed since July 8. Results of testing and scanning will not be printed from the start of August and everything will be online.

This helps save about VNĐ30 billion per year.

Online medical records will be put on a trial basis from August, before being officially applied at all departments this year.

Online medical records help connect patient information to all relevant departments. Doctors may readily track their development and use that information to forecast and schedule additional treatments for their patients.

Each patient will get a code unique to them with the aim of creating a fully paperless system. VNS