Capital’s residents to be provided personal medical records

 

 Hanoi (VNA) – The capital city of Hanoi will start putting in place an
individual medical records system for locals next month, said Nguyen Trong
Khoa, deputy director of the Department of Medical Examination and
Treatment Department.

Since
earlier this year, the establishment of individual medical records is being
implemented in the northern provinces of Phu Tho and Bac Ninh, he said.

“The
individual medical record has each person’s detailed health care information,
which is stored in the national digital medical record system,” Khoa said at a recent
press conference.

 

The
include personal information and health and disease history, he
said.

Maintaining
an individual medical records system will encourage people to go for periodic
checkups at hospitals and clinics and help doctors provide faster and more
accurate diagnosis and treatment, which will reduce time and cost for patients.

The
system will also encourage people to go for health checkups at clinics at the
grassroots level which will limit disease outbreaks and reduce overload at
central-level hospitals.

“Early
diagnosis of diseases will reduce treatment expenses for medical insurance,” Pham
Luong Son, deputy general director of Vietnam Social Insurance, said.

“Besides,
proper management of patients’ information will also help to efficiently manage
medical expenses and limit frauds related to the medical insurance fund,” Son
said.

Earlier
this month, Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, said
by June 30, the city will develop and install software to connect its 42
health centres at the grassroots level.

The
capital already has a resident database that is updated regularly, so they will
only need to add a field on health information into the system, Chung said.

“In the
future, wherever people go in the city for a checkup, the information will be
updated in the system.”

Explaining
how it will work, Chung said “Each person will have his/her own code number.
The health records will be confidential and only doctors will have access to it
and that too with the patient’s permission.”-VNA