HCM City hospital wins ASEAN award

HCM City (VNA) –The time-saving and accuracy-improving electronic medical records system of Thu Duc Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City has been recognised by the ASEAN CIO/CSO Awards 2017, and has become a model for other hospitals around the country.

The awards honour individuals and organisations in ASEAN for distinguished achievements in the fields of information technology and information security. Through its technological innovations in medical examination, treatment and records-keeping, Thu Duc Hospital has increased its number of outpatients from 200 to 5,000 per day.

“People usually think that investing into technology is costly but never care about its benefits. In fact, technology innovations enhance management capabilities and avoid wasted spending,” said Nguyen Minh Quan, Director of the hospital.

Tang Chi Thuong, Vice Director of the HCM City Department of Health, said that the electronic medical records system at Thu Duc Hospital is a pilot project that will now be duplicated at the city’s big hospitals.

According to Quan, every hospital patient receives their own identification code. With this code, doctors can easily access the patients’ medical history to make diagnoses and write prescriptions.

Patients can also automate their registration for medical examinations and receive information online indicating waiting time and their appointed clinics.

Technology also helps to synchronise all procedures, especially in dispensing medicines. Once a doctor writes out a prescription, the information is transmitted immediately to the hospital’s pharmacy, saving time for patients and better managing the prescription’s quality.

Moreover, the hospital provides doctors with digital signatures, which allow them to analyse medical test results on computers, reducing printing costs.

Le Cuong, an inpatient from Thu Duc district, is satisfied with the changes. 

"This procedure saves waiting time and strengthens our belief in the medical staff. Since doctors can follow our disease history, they can offer better advice and perform examinations based on my health condition," said Cuong.
 
The Ministry of Health (MoH) announced that it will seek to promote technology innovations in healthcare, especially focusing on human resources management software, electronic medical records and a central management system connecting 160 medical facilities in Vietnam.

Luong Chi Thanh, deputy head of the ICT department under the MoH, said that Vietnamese technology groups including VNPT, Viettel and FPT are developing innovations in the medical field.-VNA