Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has called on businesses to take the lead in e-health investment with its high potential as a large and sustainable market.

Speaking at a conference in Hanoi on January 15, the leader described the application of information and technology as a significant, long-term task for the health sector.

Investments can be used to build electronic queue systems, clinical records, and conducting online consultations, he cited as examples.

To this end, the Deputy PM asked the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Information and Communication to allow IT services provided by businesses to be utilised within the sector.

All medical examination and treatment facilities across the country must be connected and managed to ensure total access to health insurance cards and accurate health status records, he added.

Last year, every hospital at the central level had clinical software applications, but only 68 percent of provincial level facilities and 61 percent of district level facilities had used the solution, Deputy Head of the Ministry of Health’s Information and Technology Department Nguyen Hoang Phuong reported.

The Ministry of Health is piloting a project to upgrade software management for six hospitals, the National Hospital of Paediatrics; Thanh Hoa Paediatrics Hospital; National Hospital of Obstetrics and Gynaecology; National Hospital of Traditional Medicine; and General Hospitals of central Ha Tinh and Thua Thien-Hue provinces.

Establishing a software connection between clinics and insurance companies is central to improving the quality of medical services, reforming administrative formalities, and offering adequate health insurance.

The Ministry is also holding a number of telemedicine activities, including online consultations, teleradiology, and health check-ups and treatment from a distance, he said.-VNA