National health declaration to effectively fight Covid-19

People should regularly make health declarations to proactively prevent epidemics and aim for long-term benefits.

Vietnam recommends that people regularly make health declarations to proactively prevent the epidemic and aim for long-term benefits.

Actively participate in responding to epidemic control

Immediately after its launch, the policy of universal health declaration quickly entered life and was strongly responded to by the people of Nghe An province. Ms. Tran Thi Hoai in Ha Huy Tap ward, Vinh city said: “I installed the application and declared information about my health status. The steps to make a declaration on the form are also quite simple, concise, and easy to operate. Through this application, I also grasp information about the epidemic situation, epidemic area maps, and instructions in emergency situations from the authorities”...

Similarly, Mr. Nguyen Van Hieu, Nghi Hoa ward, Cua Lo town also expressed his support: "The health declaration application is very useful in preventing the complicated Covid-19 epidemic. Immediately after downloading it, I installed it to fulfill my civic duty of declaring and for everyone in my family."

Implementing the policy of universal health declaration, all levels and sectors in Nghe An have quickly taken action. After receiving guidance documents from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Information and Communications, the health sector, post and telecommunications, and social insurance sectors have conducted training conferences on the application of information technology in the prevention and control of the Covid-19 epidemic in their vertical systems. The sectors have promptly carried out the task of propagating universal health declaration in the system and in the community.

Doctor Hoang Khac Tu - Deputy Director of Cua Lo Town Medical Center shared: “Cua Lo is an area with a large volume of passengers and goods passing through, and many children returning from working abroad. To prevent the risk of a Covid-19 outbreak, the town has coordinated with the Cua Lo - Ben Thuy Port Border Guard Station, Cua Lo Port Authority, and Nghe An Province Center for Disease Control to actively implement health declaration. In addition to promoting the declaration policy on local mass media and social networks so that people know. Medical staff and block officials have gone to each house to convey the message and importance of declaration. The town has also thoroughly implemented the health declaration policy to each hotel, motel, bus station - bus station".

The implementation of universal health declaration is very convenient in urban and plain areas, but it faces many difficulties in mountainous areas - where people's lives are still difficult. Ms. Vi Thi Dao, a resident of Thanh Son village, Chau Nga commune, Quy Chau district, shared: "I don't have a smartphone and even if I did, I wouldn't know how to use it to make a health declaration. Luckily, the commune health workers, youth union, and commune police came to distribute declaration leaflets and make the declaration manually."

Propagating and guiding people to make health declarations. Photo: Nghe An Provincial Youth Union.

In localities in the province, the youth union members have taken the lead in health declaration as well as helping people exercise their rights and obligations as citizens. Nghe An Provincial Youth Union has been proactive and timely in directing all levels of the provincial Youth Union to widely disseminate information to cadres, union members, youth and people on information channels such as websites, Facebook pages of the Youth Union, Associations, and Teams at all levels, radio systems about the Covid-19 epidemic as well as knocking on doors to propagate the purpose and significance of universal health declaration and instructing and supporting people on how to declare.

Towards a universal health record

Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hong - Deputy Director of Nghe An Department of Health stated: "The main purpose of having to declare health status for the whole population is to provide information and two-way interaction between each citizen and health agencies and authorities. Based on the data provided by the people, the Vietnamese health system will know which cases need attention to ensure the fastest and most effective medical support possible. Users need to fill in personal information and regularly update their health status...

Updating this information will help Vietnam establish a national health management profile, and people will be protected and receive good health care right at the grassroots level. Therefore, all levels of sectors and localities need to more drastically implement the health declaration content required by the Central and Provincial Steering Committees to promptly identify cases at risk of Covid-19, isolate them, and promptly treat them to avoid death, as well as to aim for long-term benefits."

With the personal health management record, each citizen will have a unique personal health record with a personal identification code and updated on the national electronic health record management system. This record includes information such as: family, personal, health insurance, personal history, allergies, blood type, vaccination schedule, medical examination and treatment history, pregnancy examination, childbirth, family planning, injuries, occupational diseases of the citizen.

With a health management record, each person when needing medical examination and treatment can go to hospitals nationwide with many advantages. When receiving a patient, the doctor will access information on the system, know the patient's medical history and provide early diagnosis and treatment, bringing high efficiency. This also means reducing costs for the health insurance fund, saving people's time.

Propaganda and guidance on epidemic prevention for bus companies. Photo: Thanh Chung

The policy of universal health declaration requires mandatory declaration but there are no accompanying sanctions for violations... Hopefully, application developers and management agencies need to pay attention, research and make amendments.

Article: Thanh Chung; Technique: Duc Anh