A patient at Gia Định People’s Hospital pays her hospital fee via an automatic payment kiosk. — Photo courtesy of the hospital

HCM CITY — Gia Định People’s Hospital in HCM City on Thursday began accepting electronic payment of hospital fees to reduce waiting time and increase patient satisfaction.

The hospital’s patients can pay via smart health cards that store their information and are integrated with the hospital payment system.

They can also pay via POS which is a service for patients and their relatives to pay through bank cards. Payment via QR Code or an automatic payment kiosk is also accepted.

The hospital on Thursday signed an agreement with the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Việt Nam to carry out cashless payment services.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, Dr Nguyễn Anh Dũng, the hospital’s director, said the hospital had followed the instruction on cashless payment from the Department of Health and the central Government.

The service is one of many offered at the hospital to improve quality of medical treatment and to reform administrative procedures, with the aim of increasing patient satisfaction, Dũng said.

The service is part of the digital transformation process towards becoming a smart hospital, he added.

Deputy Head of the city's Department of Health Tăng Chí Thượng said that the city’s health sector is moving toward smart health, which is part of the smart city project.

The department will introduce Gia Định Hospital’s model of cashless payment to other hospitals in the city if a large number of patients use it, Thượng said.  

Chợ Rẫy Hospital, University Medical Centre, Thủ Đức District Hospital in the city also accept cashless payments, he added. — VNS