Benefits of electronic medical records
Bach Mai Hospital becomes the first Special Class hospital under the Ministry of Health to successfully deploy electronic medical records and officially conduct unregistered medical examination and treatment from November 15, 2024.
Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Xuan Co - Director of Bach Mai Hospital - said that the implementation of electronic medical records at Bach Mai Hospital has helped reduce errors due to manual recording, eliminate the situation of difficult-to- read writing, and provide complete and quick patient medical history information. Thanks to that, doctors can make accurate diagnoses and more effective treatment regimens.
With the application of electronic medical records, patients can easily book an online examination schedule, receive quick test results and access medical records immediately. This not only shortens waiting time but also improves the medical service experience.
"Only by not printing X-ray films, cutting computer Surveys, cong reasoning, along with test designation papers and medical records, Bach Mai Hospital saves 100 billion VND per year. This money continues to be invested in technology systems, improving the efficiency of digital transformation in healthcare" - Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Xuan Co shared.
According to Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Xuan Co, electronic medical records not only serve the work of medical examination and treatment but are also an important source of data for medical research, contributing to the development of new treatment methods.
Cho Ray Hospital is piloting the integration of electronic health book data into the VNeID application, making it easier to authenticate patients.
According to specialist Pham Thanh Viet - Deputy Director of the hospital, the system will help connect information between treatment lines, allowing doctors to monitor the patient's treatment process, limit duplication testing and simplify the transfer process.
Hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City such as the University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Nguyen Tri Phuong, City Children's Hospital, Hung Vuong have also actively converted from paper records to electronic records, helping to improve the efficiency of health information management, data security and reduce administrative procedures.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health aims to expand the connection of electronic medical records data between medical facilities to optimize treatment costs and reduce the burden on patients. Currently, nearly 1.2 million electronic health records have been activated, helping people easily look up personal health information. In addition to electronic medical records, hospitals also apply artificial intelligence (AI) and the Internet of Things (IoT) to diagnosis and treatment, opening up opportunities to improve the quality of medical services.
Prime Minister requests 100% of hospitals to deploy electronic medical records
According to the roadmap prescribed in Circular No. 46/2018 on Regulations on electronic medical records, by the end of 2023, there must be 135 Grade 1 hospitals successfully deploying electronic medical records and encouraging other medical examination and treatment facilities to deploy electronic medical records.
However, statistics from the Vietnam Medical Informatics Association show that only 94 medical examination and treatment facilities have announced the implementation of electronic medical records, not using paper medical records, reaching a rate of over 20%, including 32 grade 1 hospitals; 44 grade 2 and 3 hospitals; 4 clinics and 14 private hospitals.
Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quy Tuong - Chairman of the Medical Informatics Association - assessed that the implementation of Circular 46 still has many shortcomings and difficulties, leading to the delay in implementing electronic medical records at medical facilities. In fact, some provinces have implemented electronic medical records very well such as Phu Tho, Quang Ninh...
On February 6, Politburo member and Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh pressed the button to launch the pilot program of the Medical Data Coordination System, marking an important step forward in the digital transformation of healthcare. The Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Health to complete the necessary work to deploy electronic medical records in the first 6 months of 2025. In particular, from September 2025, 100% of hospitals nationwide will be required to use electronic medical records, moving towards a system of un paper medical examination and treatment, connecting health data nationwide.
Bac Ninh province aims to complete the conversion to electronic medical records at all hospitals before March 31, 2025. This locality is also initially implementing the connection of electronic medical records between hospitals and two frontline hospitals, Bach Mai and Viet Duc.
