Hanoi (VNA) - The Vietnam Administration for Medical Services (Ministry of Health), in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Korea Foundation for International Healthcare (KOFIH), has officially launched the project 'Telehealth to Improve Access to Healthcare Services for Disadvantaged Groups in Vietnam'.
A main goal of the project is to improve the health of disadvantaged populations constrained by supply issues. This can be achieved through a digital transformation in health and enhancing access to healthcare to help improve local health services.
The project will modernise software and digital solutions, offer servers and IT equipment, train personnel, and reinforce the legal foundation for telehealth.
It will include three main activities: creating and disseminating technical documents and guidance for telehealth; improving the capacity of the healthcare system to provide telehealth services through software upgrades and data integration; and providing and promoting telehealth services at local health facilities and communities, including for disadvantaged groups and patients with diseases like high blood pressure and tuberculosis.
The 'Doctor for Everyone' software can help with monitoring, making appointments, tele-consultancy and prescribing drugs, as well as providing online trainings and meetings.
It's available as a smartphone app, enabling a connection between local health station staff and residents to provide medical information, schedule appointments, and conduct remote medical consultations. Meanwhile, the internet browser-based application facilitates a connection between local health stations and district health centres or higher-level hospitals for diagnostic and treatment support.
Dr Ha Anh Duc, General Director of the Vietnam Administration for Medical Services said that the project focuses on ten disadvantaged and remote provinces... because these provinces still face transportation challenges, limiting the general accessibility to healthcare, particularly at the grassroots level.
“Therefore, the implementation of remote medical consultations through the application of information technology will help eliminate barriers to healthcare access for people in remote and isolated areas,” the health official added.
“This project focuses on grassroots healthcare, specifically at the commune level. Communal health stations will be equipped with infrastructure, such as computers, and software is already in place.
“In the future, commune healthcare staff will be trained and provided with professional support in primary healthcare. This is just the initial step; based on this foundation, the Ministry of Health will develop subsequent phases,” he added.
As a beneficiary of the project, Dr Tac Van Nam, director of the Bac Kan Department of Health, stated: "The remote healthcare application, aimed at enhancing access to medical services for vulnerable groups in Vietnam, can be likened to bringing firewood to warm the people of Bac Kan during the cold winter."
“Since Bac Kan is a mountainous northern province where the population is primarily ethnic minorities, the terrain is rugged and steep. Residents frequently face risks of flash floods, landslides, and temporary geographic isolation caused by natural disasters.”
“In some areas, people have to traverse challenging routes to reach healthcare centres. Therefore, recognising the benefits of a remote medical examination and treatment programme, we have always aspired to implement remote medical services to help improve local residents' access to quality healthcare services,” Nam said./.
