A doctor at Thủ Đức District Hospital examines an older patient at home. — Photo thegioitiepthi.vn

HCM CITY — People aged 60 and above with chronic health conditions in HCM City can register to receive health services at their homes, according to a policy by HCM City’s Department of Health amidst COVID-19 concerns.

Twenty one city-level hospitals, 22 district-level hospitals and 13 private hospitals are offering health examination and treatment services at patients' homes from Monday to Friday.

Thủ Đức District Hospital and Xuyên Á Hospital provide services seven days a week.

Patients aged 80 and above are eligible to be covered by health insurance, and patients aged 60 to 79 have to pay a partial cost of medical services.

Hospitals will review health records of senior patients and send doctors and nurses to their houses for health examination and treatment, as well as drug prescriptions.

Doctors can also offer examinations for patients with chronic medical conditions via telephone and prescribe medicines.

The HCM City Social Insurance Agency earlier this month approved medical services at home for senior patients with chronic medical conditions during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Drugs covered by health insurance for patients can be prescribed for up to two months.

Đặng Thị Thiếp, 90, who suffers from hypertension and lung disease, was recently visited by medics from Thủ Đức District Hospital, which is located 5km from her house.

Nguyễn Thị Kim Loan, her daughter, said she had previously taken her mother to the hospital for her periodic health examination and picked up her drugs, but it was now too risky for her mother to visit the hospital.

“We feel very happy that the medics can come to examine her and prescribe drugs,” Loan said. 

Hoàng Văn Dũng, deputy head of the general planning department at Thủ Đức District Hospital, said the hospital has assigned doctors to visit patients aged 60 and above with chronic medical conditions in the district following instructions from the city’s Department of Health on April 6.

Doctors and nurses work from 6am to 9pm all days throughout the week to visit patients and offer health check-ups at home or via telephone, Dũng said.

Most senior patients with chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes receive health examination via telephone, while some of them are visited by doctors and nurses at home if they have unusual symptoms.

Relatives of senior patients can go to the hospital to pick up medicine prescribed for one to two months if the patients’ health conditions are stable, he said.— VNS