A health official at the Thủ Đức City Hospital scans electronic health records on VNeID, a digital identity and e-signature app. —VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The HCM City health sector has been making efforts to adopt advanced technologies for building a smart healthcare system and implementing a patient-centric model to enhance the quality of health services and patient satisfaction, a top official has said.

Technological advancements are transforming the management and operation of the health sector, with digital transformation fostering the development of smart healthcare, Tăng Chí Thượng, director of the city Department of Health, said.

Public hospitals in the city are gradually converting from paper to electronic health records, enabling easier storage and access, improved accuracy and convenient sharing between healthcare facilities, he said.

The implementation of electronic health records reduces the time needed for examination and treatment, streamlines administrative procedures and minimises medical errors, he said.

He said that the HCM City University of Medical Centre is a pioneer in the implementation of electronically managing patient information.

Besides, many public hospitals have shifted to electronic medical records, including Nguyễn Tri Phương Hospital, City Children Hospital, Trưng Vương Hospital, Blood Transfusion Haematology Hospital, Traditional Medicine Hospital, Hùng Vương Hospital, Gia Định People’s Hospital, Lê Văn Thịnh Hospital, and the HCM City Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology.

Telemedicine services have been adopted to connect doctors at primary care health facilities with specialists at provincial—and city-level hospitals, providing remote support for doctors working at health stations.

Hospitals also use telemedicine for consultation, distance training and sharing experiences to update treatment regimens and generally improve treatment.

Many public hospitals in the city have embraced artificial intelligence for diagnosis and treatment, Thượng said.

The Thạnh An island commune health station in the city’s Cần Giờ District has installed an AI-powered system for analysing chest X-rays for two years, resulting in improved patient satisfaction, reduced costs and the ability to handle a higher number of patients, he said.

Many major hospitals have successfully adopted AI in examination and treatment.

Bình Dân Hospital has become a regional training centre for robotic surgery.

AI applications in imaging diagnosis at many other hospitals significantly improve diagnosis speed and accuracy and help detect diseases at early stages.

For example, AI application in radiotherapy at the HCM City Oncology Hospital has resulted in high accuracy and reduced treatment time.

Hùng Vương Hospital has an AI cervical cancer screening system that helps detect the disease early.

But there are also a number of challenges to building smart healthcare in the city, Thượng cautioned.

He said technology infrastructure needs to be upgraded to ensure stable operations and data security, and medical personnel need to be trained to use new technologies effectively.

Coordination between various departments and sectors needs to be improved to accelerate the digital transformation process, he added. —VNS