Operating electronic medical records - a turning point in digital transformation of the healthcare industry

(Baohatinh.vn) - The fact that 100% of medical facilities in the area officially operate electronic medical records has created a turning point in the digital transformation of the Ha Tinh health sector, improving the quality of health care for the people.

23/23 medical facilities operate electronic medical records

Based on the direction of the Government, the Ministry of Health and the Provincial People's Committee, from June 2025, the Department of Health issued a plan to deploy electronic medical records for medical examination and treatment facilities in Ha Tinh province. From this plan, medical facilities in the area quickly implemented steps to build electronic medical records according to regulations.

Representatives of the Ministry of Health and the Department of Health implemented the assessment of the completion and operation of electronic medical records at Hong Linh Medical Center.

After a period of developing the process, on August 2, the Department of Health coordinated with Hong Linh Medical Center to organize the assessment and announce the implementation of using and storing electronic medical records with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Health and provincial departments and branches. This is the first medical facility in the whole province to deploy the use of electronic medical records.

Doctor Nguyen Hoa - Deputy Director of the Center said: "Based on the plan and time frame of the Department of Health, the center has proactively sent working groups to learn from the experience of units outside the province that have deployed. Along with that, it is necessary to coordinate and complete the technology infrastructure from computers, upgrade transmission lines, set up software, deploy digital signatures for all doctors and arrange smart kiosks; train the entire team of doctors and nurses on the operation of electronic medical records. In particular, the center has coordinated with VNPT to synchronize and connect with 4 key software including: HIS, LIS, PACS and ERM, thereby completely closing the process from reception, information management, medical history, test results, and imaging diagnosis for patients in the electronic environment".

Data on HIS, LIS, PACS and ERM are all interconnected, completely closing the process from reception, information management, medical history, test results, and imaging diagnosis for patients in the electronic environment.

As for the Provincial General Hospital, as a leading medical facility, with a large number of patients, the information and data base is very large, improving the capacity to manage medical examination and treatment activities is very urgent. On the other hand, the hospital is also the place to deploy many specialized techniques such as: radiotherapy, vascular intervention, blood filtration... with a diverse list of drugs and chemicals, so the electronic medical record software function at the Provincial General Hospital has higher and more stringent requirements. Therefore, before the policy on operating electronic medical records, the Provincial General Hospital proactively deployed the preparation steps early.

Dr. Le Ngoc Thanh - Deputy Director of the Provincial General Hospital said: "Since September 2024, the hospital has established a committee to develop electronic medical records, step by step researching and preparing conditions for implementation. In particular, since April 2025, when the Government and the Ministry of Health had specific requests, the hospital has urgently developed a detailed plan, organized delegations to visit and learn from many pioneering models. Immediately after that, the hospital focused on investing resources to upgrade information technology infrastructure, security systems; organize training and coaching on electronic medical records operation procedures for medical staff".

Provincial General Hospital held a conference to announce electronic medical records.

The Provincial General Hospital has also coordinated with service providers to connect key software such as: HIS, LIS, PACS and EMR, thereby completely closing the process from reception, information management, medical history, test results, storage system and image transmission for patients in the electronic environment, replacing paper medical records. After a period of drastic implementation, on September 12, the Electronic Medical Records Appraisal Council led by the Department of Health and related departments and branches evaluated the criteria and voted to allow the Provincial General Hospital to operate electronic medical records.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Dung - Deputy Head of the Medical Affairs Department, Department of Health said: The implementation of electronic medical records has been directed and strongly urged by the industry. Despite many difficulties in terms of resources and professional work pressure, medical facilities have made great efforts in implementing the construction of electronic medical records. The facilities have all arranged human resources to work day and night, mobilized medical staff to bring personal computers to accompany the unit to meet the progress of implementing electronic medical records, and closely coordinated with IT units to build the most effective operating process. By September 26, 23/23 hospitals and medical centers with beds (20 public facilities and 3 non-public facilities) had completed and put into operation electronic medical records, opening a new turning point for the health sector in the management of medical examination, treatment and health care activities for the people.

Multifaceted benefits

It can be said that the operation of electronic medical records by medical facilities not only creates a turning point in the digital transformation of the healthcare sector but also brings many benefits to both patients and medical examination and treatment facilities. Accordingly, the examination and treatment process and information about disease status, prescriptions, test results, and diagnostic imaging are all carried out online, helping people save a lot of time and effort in completing procedures.

Electronic medical records help people save a lot of time and effort in performing medical examination and treatment procedures.

Ms. Hoang Thi Tam (Can Loc commune) visited Can Loc Medical Center and shared: "Instead of queuing to do the procedures like before, now, you just need to bring your citizen ID card, and the doctors will guide you to swipe on the smart kiosk to display all the requests you want to see. After that, your queue number and name will be transferred to the department you want to see. All steps only take a few minutes."

As for Mr. Nguyen Van Hoang (Duc Tho commune), who had symptoms of itching and rash, he went to the provincial General Hospital for testing. Instead of having to wait for the results, after the test was completed, Mr. Hoang could go home and the results were quickly updated by the doctors and sent to his smartphone. This helped him save a lot of time and effort waiting.

Operations such as giving medical orders and prescribing medication are all performed online.

For doctors, electronic medical records also bring many benefits, freeing up a lot of time and effort in the process of performing professional tasks. Accordingly, with electronic medical records, processes and records are completely digitized, without the need for documents or books. Data is recorded, displayed and stored electronically, with a legal basis and functions equivalent to paper medical records through digital signatures. All information of patients when coming to the hospital for treatment is fully stored, contributing to shortening the time for examination and treatment.

On the other hand, electronic medical records also help reporting and statistics to be convenient, accurate and fast. Doctors can view related medical records on the software system. Issuing medical orders and prescribing drugs in the electronic environment also ensures accuracy and limits errors.

The leaders of the Department of Health inspected and evaluated the implementation of electronic medical records at Huong Khe Medical Center.

The fact that 100% of medical facilities have completed electronic medical records is not only a technical achievement but also a transformation in management thinking, improving health care standards and taking advantage of technology to better serve people.

To maintain and improve the efficiency of exploiting electronic medical records, medical facilities need to continue to invest in infrastructure, pay attention to human resource training, improve the legal framework and maintain strict security policies. When these factors are regularly strengthened, electronic medical records will become a key tool in building a modern and effective health system. At the same time, we hope that the Government will have mechanisms and policies to encourage information technology enterprises to coordinate and accompany the health sector in deploying electronic medical records. The Ministry of Health needs to issue common norms and standards on IT infrastructure when deploying; soon issue a price frame for IT application services in medical examination and treatment."

Mr. Nguyen Minh Duc - Director of Department of Health

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/van-hanh-benh-an-dien-tu-buoc-ngoat-chuyen-doi-so-cua-nganh-y-te-post296763.html