Appraisal of the implementation of electronic medical records to completely replace paper medical records at Vinh General Hospital

Participating in the appraisal of electronic medical records at Vinh General Hospital were: Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quy Tuong - Director of the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Health and some members of the Department; representatives of the Department of Health and Social Insurance of Nghe An province.

Representative of Vinh General Hospital reports on the electronic medical record management information system to the appraisal council. Photo: Duc Anh

After listening to the report on the electronic medical records management information system at the hospital, the delegation directly visited the machinery and equipment rooms, information technology infrastructure, the application of IT in management and operation, and medical examination and treatment activities of the hospital.

The delegation directly assessed the implementation of the electronic medical record system (inpatient treatment records, outpatient treatment records and outpatient examination records); some outstanding application initiatives of the hospital such as: fingerprint confirmation to replace the patient's signature, multi-purpose vehicle model integrating electrocardiogram results, blood pressure measurement, fingerprint confirmation... into electronic medical records; bringing practical effectiveness in the application of electronic medical records to completely replace paper medical records at the hospital.

The delegation visited the hospital's computer room and information technology infrastructure. Photo: Duc Anh

Evaluating the procedures for implementing electronic medical records at hospitals. Photo: Duc Anh

Concluding the meeting, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quy Tuong - Director of the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Health highly appreciated the efforts and determination of Vinh General Hospital to invest adequate resources in terms of finance, human resources and progress in applying IT in management and operation. The results of the hospital's IT system implementation are good, reflected in the IT infrastructure meeting the requirements for implementing electronic medical records, having a server room to ensure information security, HIS software and utilities reaching level 6/7; in terms of implementing electronic medical records, the hospital reached an advanced level; the management and operation software and non-functional software are relatively good.

Vinh General Hospital performs fingerprint scanning to replace patient signatures. Photo: Duc Anh

Thus, according to Circular 46/2018/TT-BYT regulating electronic medical records, Circular 54/2017/TT-BYT regulating the set of criteria for IT application at medical examination and treatment facilities, there are 146 criteria, we have carefully reviewed and evaluated Vinh General Hospital to reach level 6/7 - the highest level of the "Smart Hospital" criteria. The hospital is qualified to deploy electronic medical records without using paper medical records and without using cash in hospital fee payments.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quy Tuong - Director of the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Healthhighly appreciated the efforts and determination of Vinh General Hospital in applying and promoting the effectiveness of IT in the unit's activities. Photo: Duc Anh

However, to complete the IT system, Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Quy Tuong suggested that the hospital continue to supplement and develop in-depth some applications in hospital management software (HIS, LIS, PACS)... At the same time, it is recommended that the hospital can deploy electronic medical records and not use paper medical records starting from January 1, 2020.

Dr. Nguyen Hong Truong - Director of Vinh General Hospital affirmed that electronic medical records will soon be deployed, completely replacing paper medical records from 2020. Photo: Duc Anh

Receiving comments from the leaders of the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Health, Doctor Nguyen Hong Truong - Director of Vinh General Hospital affirmed: The application of electronic medical records is a digital transformation step of the health sector, which is meaningful not only for the hospital in management, operation, reform of medical examination and treatment processes, public and transparent information, reducing inconvenience for patients, monitoring patient information more accurately and effectively serving the management agency in building policies and plans, but also brings practical benefits, helping people access medical services faster, monitor medical examination and treatment processes conveniently and accurately. Therefore, the hospital will continue to add applications and utilities to the software in the IT system to soon deploy electronic medical records to completely replace paper medical records from January 2020; becoming the first hospital in Nghe An and the 4th hospital in the country to deploy electronic medical records to completely replace paper medical records./.