Benefits of digital transformation in hospitals

Convenient for people

Having suffered from diabetes for many years, Mrs. Bui Thi Quyet in Nghia An commune (Ninh Giang) has to regularly go to the district health center for medical examination and treatment. Her house is far from the health center, so she asks her children and grandchildren to take her to the hospital early to register for medical examination. There were days when she arrived at the hospital at 5 am to wait in line. However, for nearly a year now, she no longer has to wait in line like that.

Ms. Quyet said: "About 2 days before the scheduled appointment, I called the District Health Center to register for a medical examination. After that, the center's staff will call back to schedule a specific time for the examination. At first, I was still confused, but after a few months, the registration by phone was done quickly, on schedule. We, the patients, are all excited because we no longer have to wait as long as before."

Hai Duong General Hospital is simultaneously deploying 3 digital services in medical examination and treatment. These are registering for medical examination via automatic kiosk, registering for medical examination online and paying hospital fees via QR code.

In addition to registering for medical examination and treatment and payment via QR code, the hospital has also deployed digital signatures for 250 doctors. All medical records have been digitally signed, especially the digital signature of health examination papers for drivers and death certificates. It is expected that by May 2025, the hospital will deploy digital signatures for all doctors and nurses. Electronic medical records are being piloted in the following departments: Emergency, Internal Medicine 4, Surgery 2, and Hemodialysis.

The Provincial General Hospital also applies the Ehealth application to monitor and manage patients. Dr. Bui Thai Duong, Deputy Head of the Emergency Department, said: "The Ehealth application can be used for both patients and doctors; it provides warnings about treatment regimens and possible risks to patients. However, the hospital currently only uses it for the main treating doctors to monitor and manage the health status of patients. It is expected that in the near future, the hospital will provide names and passwords for patients being treated at the hospital to log into the application and monitor their own health."

Speed ​​up the implementation of Project 06

Ninh Giang District Medical Center is one of the typical units of the province in digital transformation. The center's Information Technology Team and Social Work Team regularly organize instructions for medical facilities and people to use the Electronic Health Book information on VNeID; register patient stay on the VNeID application; perform digitalization, handle administrative procedures, and digitally sign work records on the management system. Publicize payment accounts at treatment departments and payment desks. In addition to 3 kiosks for medical examination and treatment registration at the hospital, patients can register for medical examination and treatment by phone and through the website of the District Medical Center. On average, over 600 patients register for remote medical examination and treatment each month.

Mr. Trinh Dinh Toan, specialist II, Deputy Director of Ninh Giang District Medical Center, said that digital transformation according to Project 06 helps change management methods to reduce waiting time, digital reports, save costs as well as cumbersome administrative procedures. In the coming time, the center will implement the connection of medical examination and treatment data on electronic health books, referral papers, re-examination appointment papers, and test results to serve information exploitation in the electronic health record service group on VNeID. In particular, the electronic medical records will be completed in September, which will be a big step forward for the local health sector.

According to the Department of Health, currently 100% of medical examination and treatment facilities in Hai Duong use chip-embedded citizen identification cards in health insurance examination and treatment procedures. Over 1.8 million people's data has been updated on the electronic health record platform, accounting for 85.26% of the province's population. Currently, all data of people coming for examination such as: medical history, treatment results, diagnosis, medication, tests... are pushed to the software.

The registration for remote medical examination and treatment has also been implemented by medical units. The province has 21 kiosks installed at 18 medical facilities. The remaining medical facilities have plans to install kiosks. Electronic medical records have also been implemented by medical units (except Phong Chi Linh Hospital). In March, the units conducted a survey of the infrastructure, completed the process of renting and purchasing software systems and other equipment. The province has 492 digital signatures at all medical units. The implementation of electronic medical records will be completed by medical facilities in September this year.

Despite many difficulties and obstacles, with the high determination of the health sector, digital transformation at public health facilities in Hai Duong is being implemented according to the roadmap. Efforts in digital transformation have helped the province's health sector save human resources, improve efficiency and productivity, shorten medical examination and treatment time, reduce administrative procedures and aim for patient satisfaction.

PV