The information was shared by experts at the Workshop on the results of implementing the remote medical examination and treatment program at grassroots health facilities using the Doctor of Every Home software, on July 20.

The Doctor for Every Family application is a remote medical examination and treatment initiative implemented by the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) since 2020. People in need of medical examination and treatment can receive timely medical care from the Commune Health Station with the consultation of a doctor at a higher level through an online connection using this application. This approach reduces costs for patients when receiving remote medical care and improves the capacity of medical staff at the Commune Health Station.

Like the case of Mr. Hoang in Dak Lak, who has high blood pressure and is using this software to monitor his condition. "I have had high blood pressure for a long time, so before drinking alcohol, do I need to take more blood pressure medication?", Mr. Hoang asked on the application without having to go to the medical station.

Receiving this question, Doctor Ho Huu Hai, Head of Hoa Tien Commune Health Station, answered: "Taking medication to treat high blood pressure before drinking alcohol is not appropriate, it makes the disease worse and can cause a stroke if blood pressure increases after drinking too much alcohol."

Mr. Hoang is one of nearly 1,300 people in Hoa Tien commune who received health check-up consultation thanks to installing and using this software.

According to the Ministry of Health, the program has been implemented in two phases including software development and testing in Ha Giang, Bac Kan and Lang Son provinces from 2021 to 2022. Phase 2 was implemented in 5 provinces: Thua Thien Hue, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Dak Lak and Ca Mau. Currently, the software has been installed and deployed in 1,403 provincial, district and commune-level medical facilities in 5 provinces, all of which are seamlessly connected to the Ministry of Health's Data Center.

The telemedicine initiative has been well received by health workers, with 4,900 officials at provincial, district and commune levels trained to use the Doctor for Every Family app effectively. 755,000 citizen accounts have been created, with around 28,000 appointments booked through the system as of June.

Dr. Nguyen Trong Khoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, said that the Doctor for Every Family application is a bridge between medical staff at commune health stations and medical units at district and higher levels, helping to provide effective consultation and treatment guidance. The program has a video call feature, supporting meetings or professional activities.

"All patient disease developments, prescriptions, and treating physicians are updated and stored electronically. If there is a follow-up appointment, the software automatically reminds them. From there, health care is not interrupted," said Mr. Khoa, adding that medical doctors at the commune and district levels have the opportunity to connect and improve their knowledge through sharing expertise, transferring techniques, and narrowing the gap between doctors at upper and lower levels.

At the workshop, experts also discussed the difficulties in implementing this program. For example, regulations on health insurance payment for remote medical examination and treatment services are still lacking, so there is no legal basis to pay for examination fees for medical stations and consultation and professional on-call fees for doctors at upper-level hospitals.

In addition, the process of remote medical examination and treatment is different from direct medical examination. Medical staff must operate on information technology equipment and software, but there are currently no standards for professional competence and information technology for remote medical examination and treatment practitioners.

Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan said that the Ministry of Health is developing documents guiding the implementation of the revised Law on Medical Examination and Treatment and will submit a Decree to the Government for promulgation in 2023. Accordingly, the content of remote medical examination and treatment (in Article 80) will be regulated more specifically and in detail, creating conditions for medical facilities, practitioners and especially patients to benefit from this activity.

Le Nga