Recently, discussing in the National Assembly, delegates proposed to exempt hospital fees early for people with cancer and dialysis; at the same time, recommended updating the list of drugs, especially cancer drugs, to reduce the payment level for patients using health insurance.
Dr. Diep Bao Tuan - Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital said that this is a humane direction, in line with the reality of increasing the burden of disease. However, for the policy to be feasible and sustainable, there needs to be a specific roadmap, associated with financial resources and system-wide preparation.
At the same time, cancer and chronic diseases often have huge treatment costs, and a long monitoring time. If hospital fees are exempted, many patients will have better access to treatment, increase their ability to prolong life as well as improve their quality of life.
However, the treatment costs of these groups of diseases are very high. Therefore, to achieve the goal of hospital fees exemption, it is necessary to calculate a suitable roadmap, ensuring long-term and sustainable financial resources" - Dr. Diep Bao Tuan emphasized.
Regarding the group of patients subject to the greatest financial pressure, Dr. Diep Bao Tuan commented that there needs to be full research to accurately determine the groups that benefit the most. However, according to clinical experience, patients with high rates of cancers in Vietnam such as breast cancer, lung cancer, and digestive cancer will be the group that benefits greatly if the hospital fee exemption policy is implemented.
One content that many National Assembly deputies mentioned was the requirement to update the list of health insurance drugs, especially cancer drugs.
According to Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, this is an urgent need. Many new-generation cancer drugs have been approved and circulating in Vietnam, helping to improve treatment effectiveness and longevity for patients. However, the cost of these drugs is often very high, making only a small percentage of patients able to access them.
Updating the list of cancer drugs covered by health insurance will help expand treatment opportunities. But to do this, it is necessary to carefully calculate the budget, payment mechanism and response capacity of the health insurance fund, Dr. Diep Bao Tuan analyzed.
Regarding the requirement to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital said it is implementing many synchronous solutions. The hospital regularly sends a team of doctors and nurses to attend major cancer conferences around the world such as ASCO (USA) and ESMO ( Europe), to promptly update new diagnosis and treatment schedules and techniques as well as drugs that have just been approved in Vietnam. At the same time, the hospital proactively proposed that the city budget invest in modern equipment and use career development funds to purchase more techniques and machinery to serve patients.
If the hospital fee exemption policy is implemented, the number of patients coming for examination and treatment at public hospitals, including Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, will certainly increase sharply. The hospital assessed that the biggest challenge was human resources and facilities.
"We will have to treat more patients, while the current human resources are unlikely to respond immediately. The hospital will prioritize handling serious cases and first aid; at the same time, continue to invest in human resources, equipment and increase technical transfer to the provincial level to reduce the burden on the final level" - Dr. Diep Bao Tuan explained.
For the hospital fee exemption policy to be effective, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital believes that strengthening the grassroots health system and provincial health care is a top priority. There needs to be a strong route management strategy, helping patients trust and treat locally, avoiding concentrating on the end line causing overload, affecting treatment quality.
