An HIV patient receives free antiretroviral (ARV) drugs at District 11’s Medical Centre in HCM City. Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) – To
ensure delivery of , the in Ho Chi Minh
City is accelerating coverage of health insurance for HIV patients as
donor funding for antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and treatment will end in a few
years now that Vietnam has reached lower middle-income status as classified
by the World Bank.
The supply of ARV drugs funded by international
donors is expected to be used up by the end of next year, said Nguyen Huu Hung,
deputy director of the city’s Department of Health.
will have to cover the cost of
ARV drugs starting in early 2019, Hung said at a conference held on October 18
in HCM City.
The city’s Department of Health has told medical
centres in all districts to establish general clinics to provide health examinations
and treatment for insured HIV patients.
However, medical centres in several districts
are ineligible to establish general clinics because of a lack of specialised
doctors and medical equipment.
Pham Thi Kim Hoa, director of Can Gio district’s
Medical Centre, said that its public health consulting and support department
had long been responsible for providing free health check-ups and treatment for
HIV patients.
The public health consulting and support
department, however, is not eligible to sign contracts with social insurance
agencies to provide health check-ups and treatment for insured HIV patients.
Therefore, the centre has to set up a general
clinic which has legal rights to sign contracts with social insurance agencies,
according to Hoa.
The centre said it had sought approval for
setting up a general clinic, but it was refused because of it lacked
specialised doctors, she said.
It plans to transfer treatment of 112 patients
to Can Gio Hospital by the second quarter of next year.
District 1’s Medical Centre is in the same
situation as it is struggling to set up a general clinic to provide health care
services for HIV patients with insurance cards, said Nguyen Van The, director
of the centre.
Lack of medical equipment and doctors, among
other reasons, have made it impossible for the centre to establish a general
clinic, according to The.
Around 1,200 HIV patients are being treated at
District 1’s Medical Centre, he said.
Tieu Thi Thu Van, director of the HCM City
HIV/AIDS Prevention Centre, has proposed setting up HIV-treatment clinics at
district-level hospitals instead of general clinics at medical centres.
Under the proposal, district hospitals would
sign contracts with social insurance agencies to provide health care services
for HIV patients with health insurance cards.
More than 31,000 HIV
patients in HCM City receive regular examinations and treatment at medical
centres. -VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
