National Assembly deputies complain about the inconvenience of hospital transfer paperwork, what does the Minister of Health say?

Can I remove the transfer paper?

Continuing the 6th Session program, on the morning of November 20, the National Assembly discussed in the hall the results of supervising the settlement of voters' petitions sent to the 5th Session, 15th National Assembly.

Expressing his opinion regarding the issue of health insurance, National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Anh Tri said that voters have many opinions about going to the doctor and patients having to ask for a hospital transfer paper, which is "very troublesome, very time-consuming, very tiring".

According to the delegate, information technology has advanced and the connection of test results, functional examinations, and diagnostic imaging has become quite smooth.

Currently, more than 93% of Vietnam's population has health insurance, so the additional "barrier for requesting a hospital transfer certificate" should be abolished.

The delegate suggested to speed up the process of connecting routes, more substantially, and in the next revision of the Law on Health Insurance, it must be done so that people with health insurance can seek medical examination and treatment anywhere they want, in accordance with their medical condition, quality of examination and treatment, travel time, care conditions... "This must be considered the most important amendment in this revision," Mr. Tri stated.

Minister Dao Hong Lan participated in explaining and clarifying a number of issues raised by National Assembly deputies.

Participating in explaining and clarifying a number of issues raised by National Assembly deputies, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan expressed her views on solving the problem of hospital transfers to reduce procedures for people but must ensure the sustainability of the health system as well as avoid overload at the central level.

Ms. Lan said that with the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, the old law stipulates that medical examination and treatment are divided into 4 levels, while the new law divides it into 3 levels, clearly stating the conditions for which level of medical examination and treatment is allowed, based on the facility's ability to respond and the patient's condition.

Since 2014, the Minister of Health said that the transfer from lower to higher levels must be sequential, but by 2016, the district level was opened and by 2021, the entire province will be opened.

The transfer of routes to facilitate people has been basically resolved. The problem now is whether people can go directly from the district route to the central route or not.

To clarify this issue, the Minister of Health affirmed that the transfer of levels must ensure that it meets the medical examination and treatment needs of the people and the medical examination and treatment capacity of each level, avoiding overloading the upper level.

Ms. Lan said that currently, referrals are divided into two streams: From lower levels to higher levels if the facility cannot meet the medical examination and treatment needs of the people; from higher levels to lower levels when the illness is stable, ensuring long-term treatment.

However, to reduce administrative procedures, the Ministry of Health will accept and is focusing on using electronic referrals to relieve difficulties for people.

Directly answering the question "Can we abolish hospital transfer papers?", the Minister of Health emphasized the very specific role of the referral paper, clearly stating the treatment history as well as the medical record, whether paper or electronic, is very necessary.

Solving the problem of borrowing medical equipment and supplies is very difficult.

In addition, regarding voters' recommendations on policies for population officers, the Minister of Health informed that in implementing Conclusion No. 25 of the Politburo, the Government has issued Decree No. 05/2023 on implementing preferential policies for officers working in preventive medicine. However, during the implementation process, population officers are not included in this Decree No. 05.

"During that time, the Ministry of Health also received recommendations from voters regarding the policy for population officers. The Ministry of Health sent working groups to localities to grasp the situation. From there, the Ministry sent document 5492 to the People's Committees of the provinces to review the policy for population officers," Minister Dao Hong Lan informed.

However, the leaders of the Ministry of Health said that in the past, the implementation of local policies has had many places where population officers were assigned to do other work but were not entitled to the allowances as prescribed. The Ministry has sent a document requesting the People's Committees of the provinces to review to ensure the correct job position and title. In case of having to do other medical tasks, allowances must be ensured.

In addition, the Minister of Health said: "The Ministry has also proposed that when implementing salary reform in the near future, agencies and sectors need to pay more attention to the treatment regime for grassroots medical staff, including those working in population work. How to ensure the highest allowance according to regulations to ensure that the medical staff have sufficient working conditions".

Delegates attending the meeting.

Regarding the issue of borrowing medical equipment and supplies during the pandemic, Minister Dao Hong Lan said that in the regulations on procurement and bidding, there are no regulations on the form of borrowing first and paying later, borrowing and then bidding to return. For example, when fighting the pandemic, we borrowed test kits, now we cannot buy these items to return them.

Affirming that hospitals' provisional borrowing of medical equipment in urgent situations is necessary to ensure people's lives. However, Ms. Lan said that Resolution 99 of the National Assembly assigned the Government to resolve the issue of borrowing at medical facilities before 2024, which is very difficult.

"We have coordinated with localities to request reports on the current status of equipment borrowing. Up to now, statistics have been compiled from 48 localities and 7 ministries and branches, with a total borrowing of 1,693 billion VND, of which 754 billion VND is borrowed for drugs and biological products, and 939 billion VND is borrowed for test kits," the Minister of Health stated.

According to the Minister, on this basis, the Ministry of Health will classify the forms of borrowing to develop a thorough handling plan.

"The spirit is that because there are no regulations in the law, the Government needs to report to the Standing Committee on a mechanism to help hospitals overcome difficulties," said Ms. Lan, adding that the revised Law on Medical Examination and Treatment has included the form of borrowing and advancing medical equipment and supplies, and units are working on detailed instructions for this .

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/dbqh-than-giay-chuyen-vien-phien-toai-bo-truong-y-te-noi-gi-a636775.html