Online briefing from Hòa Vang District hospital’s meeting room to COVID-19 patient treatment room in Đà Nẵng City on July 19. — Photo Anh Văn

HÀ NỘI — The Government Office and the Ministry of Health will jointly organise the National Health Digital Transformation Programme 2020 (eHealth Vietnam Summit 2020) on December 29-30 in Hà Nội.

The programme aims to make the most of advantages in information technology application, mobilise social resources and seek solutions to promote the rapid, timely and efficient implementation of digital transformation in the medical field in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In addition to the plenary session, there are also four sideline seminars focusing on topics such as: Digital transformation in medical examination and treatment, Digital transformation in disease prevention and healthcare; Digital transformation in health management and non-cash payments. Achievements of digital transformation in the health field and medical innovations will be also introduced at this event.

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said that the National Health Digital Transformation Programme 2020 will be a chance to exchange experience and propose solutions to successfully implement the Digital Transformation Programme in the health sector as well as to orient business communities and State authorities to coordinate and support the effective implementation of medical digital transformation.

“Digital transformation in the medical sector includes the comprehensive application of information technology, with a special focus on modern digital technologies, leading to a positive change in all medical activities of the health sector,” said the health ministry’s Information Technology Agency director Trần Quý Tường at a press conference on Thursday.

Tường said that the health sector has stepped up and made a breakthrough in IT application, access to digital technologies such as connected internet of things (IoT) in the medical field, artificial intelligence, virtual reality, cloud computing and big data analytics in recent years.

According to Tường, the sector has promoted the application of information technology in hospitals such as 100 per cent of hospitals nationwide have deployed a hospital management information system, 10 hospitals and one clinic have deployed electronic medical records instead of paper ones, while 23 hospitals have deployed image storage and transmission systems (PACS) instead of printing films. Some hospitals in Hà Nội, Đà Nẵng and HCM City have used social networks in patient interactions. The application of electronic medical records for patients and cloud computing applications were available also in Nghệ An, Tiền Giang and Kon Tum provinces.

The Ministry of Health also collaborated with Vietnam Social Insurance Agency to successfully implement the interconnection between medical examination and treatment facilities nationwide and the Social Insurance Agency. To date, 99.5 per cent of healthcare facilities across the country have connected with the assessment system of the Vietnam Social Insurance Agency, according to the Information Technology Agency.

The sector has developed a remote medical examination and treatment consultation system and IoT in the health sector and deployed artificial intelligence and robotic applications in the medical field. The sector also developed and deployed electronic health records and promoted the application of information technology in grassroots health facilities by developing a unified management software for commune health stations nationwide. It also organised the electronic health statistics system nationwide and applied IT advances in the prevention and control of COVID-19, such as the voluntary medical declaration software (NCOVI), the Vietnam Health Declaration, Bluezone and Safe COVID apps.

The health sector plans to apply digital technology in most of its activities and services, forming a smart health system with three main contents: smart prevention; smart medical examination and treatment; and smart medical administration. — VNS