Hand-holding, doctor "goes to virtual room"
Patient Khuat Van Cong (born in 1979 - character name has been changed) in Son Tay, Hanoi chose to have hip replacement surgery at the Department of Trauma Surgery, Son Tay General Hospital, instead of requesting a transfer to Viet Duc Hospital. Notably, experts from Viet Duc Hospital were invited to perform surgery for many patients, and directly "hand-held" doctors at Son Tay General Hospital.
“My husband had surgery on his left hip at Viet Duc Hospital and his right hip a second time. After consulting with the doctor, we decided to have surgery at Son Tay General Hospital. After the surgery, my husband recovered quickly, and now both legs are normal and no longer limp. The cost of surgery at Son Tay General Hospital is lower than the first time, and we also save on travel and accommodation costs because we don’t have to go far from home,” said Pham Thi Hue (name changed), wife of patient Cong.
In Hanoi, the development of healthcare at district-level hospitals is also expected to reduce the burden on upper-level hospitals located in the capital.
Ba Vi District General Hospital (Hanoi) and E Hospital (Ministry of Health) have just signed an agreement on cooperation in training, professional support and technology transfer. E Hospital will provide professional support to Ba Vi District General Hospital in training high-quality human resources, supporting technology transfer, developing advanced techniques and specialized examinations; sending doctors and nurses to support examination and treatment at the hospital, supporting and receiving referrals of patients... E Hospital's doctors also regularly go to the grassroots level to exchange expertise in a number of clinical and paraclinical departments of Ba Vi District General Hospital.
Dr. Nguyen Cong Huu - Director of E Hospital - affirmed: The signing of cooperation between the central hospital and the provincial hospital aims to improve the quality of medical services, effectively meeting the health care needs of people right at the grassroots level.
Dr. Pham Ba Hien - Director of Ba Vi District General Hospital - said: The hospital has deployed a number of advanced, routine techniques such as endoscopic digestive surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, knee arthroscopy, tonsillectomy, tympanic patching, maxillofacial fusion, cesarean section surgery, etc.
From September 2023, Ba Vi District General Hospital and Xanh Pon General Hospital will pilot the "Sister - Sister Hospital" model with the "virtual room" method, participating in emergency care thanks to online connection, helping seriously ill patients in the locality receive timely professional support from doctors at higher levels.
The hospital also coordinates with upper-level hospitals such as K Hospital, Bach Mai Hospital, Hanoi Heart Hospital, Hanoi Oncology Hospital, Hanoi Kidney Hospital, Hanoi Lung Hospital to deploy new techniques, support "hands-on" technology transfer, improve service quality and train human resources, meeting people's health care needs.
Significantly reduce the rate of patient referrals
Since March 2021, Bach Mai Hospital and Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee have signed a medical cooperation agreement. In 2024 alone, 76 doctors from Lao Cai Provincial General Hospital will be trained in the fields of cardiology, emergency resuscitation, internal medicine, diagnostic imaging, etc.
Training and transferring techniques in the fields of artificial heart and lung, blood filtration, hypothermia command, endoscopic surgery, laser treatment of venous insufficiency, tumor surgery, echocardiography... with many successful cases. For difficult cases, beyond the unit's capacity, doctors of Bach Mai Hospital always provide professional support regardless of day or night, during office hours or holidays.
Meanwhile, in Lai Chau, after more than 1 year of implementation, the health sector of Lai Chau province has achieved remarkable results.
Mr. Tong Thanh Hai - Standing Vice Chairman of Lai Chau Provincial People's Committee - said: "Bach Mai Hospital has sent specialized staff to support Lai Chau, strengthen emergency care and improve access to medical services, especially for the poor. Thanks to that, the referral rate has decreased by 10% compared to 2023 and technical services at all levels have increased by 10-15%".
Vinh Phuc and Phu Tho provinces also cooperate with central hospitals in the fields of applying information technology to digital transformation, health education communication, high-tech medical service consulting, etc. Bach Mai Hospital is supporting the General Hospitals of these two provinces to become specialized medical centers.
Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Xuan Co - Director of Bach Mai Hospital - shared: "The goal of signing the cooperation agreement is so that people do not have to transfer to other hospitals, but still enjoy quality medical services right in their locality."
