Modern medicine for people’s healthcare

During the 2020-2025 term, Dong Nai's health sector has experienced significant development, making important contributions to the cause of caring for and protecting people's health.

Vaccinating people at the Dong Nai Provincial Center for Disease Control. Photo: Hanh Dung

This undertaking affirms its core role in improving the quality of life for the people, building an increasingly civilized and modern Dong Nai province.

Controlling many dangerous epidemics

In late 2019, the COVID-19 epidemic appeared, rapidly increasing in both cases and deaths in some countries around the world, raising concerns about public health. With an extremely fast spread through the respiratory tract, COVID-19 was soon recorded in Vietnam, and by April 2020, Dong Nai had its first case.

In response to an unprecedented pandemic, and under the direction of the government and the Ministry of Health, Dong Nai province swiftly implemented epidemic prevention measures early and from a distance. The province issued a series of breakthrough directives and regulations, guided by the spirit of “fighting the pandemic like fighting an enemy,” placing the health and lives of the people above all else.

The health sector, as the advisory body and directly performing professional tasks, promptly proposed many solutions to zone, isolate, and effectively suppress the epidemic. Thousands of doctors, nurses, technicians, and medical staff did not shy away from difficulties, hardships, or sacrifices, volunteering to be on the front lines of the fight against the epidemic.

Dau Ngoc Trung, Specialist Level II, Head of the Department of Disease Control and HIV/AIDS at Bien Hoa Regional Medical Center, recalled: “Everyone, without being told, was ready to throw themselves into the hottest outbreak zones. We worked day and night, transporting people to isolation facilities, conducting investigations, tracing contacts, setting up containment zones, collecting test samples, controlling outbreaks, administering vaccines, and managing F0 and F1 cases at home, all with a single goal: to control the epidemic and return life to normal for the people.”

In parallel with the preventive block, the treatment block also prepared sufficient human resources, machinery, equipment, and medicines to serve treatment, minimizing the number of deaths. Many effective remedies and innovative approaches were implemented at field hospitals, centralized isolation areas, and intensive care units for severely ill patients, helping many patients overcome dangerous situations and recover miraculously.

With a spirit of solidarity, the active participation of the entire political system, and the collective efforts of the community, the COVID-19 outbreak was largely brought under control in Dong Nai province by the end of October 2022. As vaccine coverage in the community steadily increased, the emergence of new variants did not result in a worrisome rise in case numbers or severity of illness. As of now, COVID-19 has been classified as a Group B infectious disease and is no longer the haunting fear it was for the community just a few years ago.

In recent years, the Dong Nai health sector has successfully brought under control not only the Covid-19 pandemic but also several other dangerous and highly contagious diseases such as measles, dengue fever, and hand-foot-mouth disease.

According to the Draft Resolution of the 1st Dong Nai Provincial Party Congress for the 2025–2030 term, the population of Dong Nai province is projected to exceed 4.8 million by 2030. The province has set targets for that year, including 13–15 doctors and 32 hospital beds per 10,000 people; 97 percent of the population covered by health insurance; and an average life expectancy of 77.6 years.

Digitizing the entire medical examination and treatment process

Recognizing the significance of digital transformation in healthcare, which has the potential to create breakthroughs in public health care, the health sector has recently made efforts to implement numerous projects and initiatives related to digital transformation.

Nguyen Dinh Hung, 68, a resident of Tam Hiep ward, Dong Nai province, said that in the past, every time he went to the hospital for a check-up, he had to arrive very early to “reserve a spot” and wait until the hospital opened to receive a consultation number. Hospital fees were paid in cash, and because of the crowds, Hung was always anxious about being pickpocketed or losing money while moving around. But now, everything has changed. Patients only need to bring their chip-based ID card and can register for appointments quickly and conveniently at smart medical kiosks. Hospital fees are paid via bank transfer using QR codes, which is a very convenient method.

According to Do Thi Nguyen, Director of the Dong Nai Department of Health, digital transformation is not only the application of technology but also a comprehensive strategy to change the way the health sector operates, focusing on patients, towards a modern, efficient, and comprehensive health system.

Currently, 100% of medical facilities in the province have implemented registration for medical examination and treatment using chip-attached ID cards. People no longer need to carry multiple types of documents as they did in the past when going for medical examinations. In addition to ID cards, people can also register for medical examinations through the VssID and VNeID applications, as well as the hospital's app.

Information about the patient's medical history and medication use is also stored on the system. When the patient returns for subsequent examinations, the doctor will be able to assess the patient's condition and disease progression. After the examination, the doctor will prescribe an electronic prescription for the patient, which will be linked to the National Pharmaceutical System, ensuring transparency and minimizing the risk of inappropriate drug prescriptions, especially antibiotics.

To improve the quality of diagnosis and treatment for patients, in addition to investing in modern machinery and equipment, medical facilities in the province are gradually incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) into image diagnosis, MRI scans, echocardiograms, and other procedures. This feature allows doctors to detect even the smallest lesions in patients early.

In particular, to increase reliability and interconnect laboratory results between medical levels, to date, 4 medical facilities in the province have achieved international certification for ISO 15189:2022 testing. Among them, Hoan My Dong Nai Hospital is the first hospital in the province to achieve this certification.

Medical staff performing testing procedures at Hoan My Dong Nai Hospital.

Following the directives of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Health, Dong Nai's health sector is accelerating the rollout of electronic medical records at hospitals and medical centers with inpatient beds. Following the successful implementation at Long Khanh Regional General Hospital in 2020, electronic medical records have been adopted by other facilities, including Thong Nhat General Hospital and Dong Nai General Hospital.

Before the "wave" of public health workers leaving their jobs after the Covid-19 pandemic, the Dong Nai Provincial People's Council (old) issued Resolution No. 34/2022/NQ-HDND dated December 10, 2022, regulating the support regime for human resources in Dong Nai's health sector for the period 2023-2025. The resolution agreed to spend nearly 890 billion VND to support the income of almost 9,000 health workers working at public medical facilities in the province.

Dr. Ngo Duc Tuan, Specialist Level II and Director of Dong Nai General Hospital, stated that the hospital considers digital transformation in healthcare a key task in building a smart, paperless hospital, improving the quality of medical examinations and treatments, and aiming to enhance patient satisfaction. The implementation of electronic medical records marks a significant step forward, streamlining hospital management and making it more efficient, reducing the workload on medical staff, and allowing them to focus more on patient care.

Comprehensive healthcare for the people

After merging with Binh Phuoc province, Dong Nai province has a population of nearly 4.5 million in 95 communes and wards. With the goal of providing comprehensive healthcare to its people, the province's health system has undergone significant development, not only in urban areas but also in rural, mountainous, and border regions.

In addition to eight central-level hospitals and institutes under ministries and sectors located in the province, Dong Nai is also home to 23 public and private hospitals; six provincial-level specialized centers; more than 2,100 private general and specialized clinics; 22 regional medical centers; 95 commune- and ward-level health stations; 176 satellite stations; and over 4,000 pharmacies, drugstores, and healthcare service facilities. The total number of hospital beds exceeds 13,400, equivalent to 30.5 beds per 10,000 people. In terms of healthcare scale, Dong Nai ranks second in the Southern region, behind only Ho Chi Minh City.

The human resources of the entire health sector have also continuously improved in both quantity and quality. To date, Dong Nai's health sector has over 15,000 medical staff working in public and non-public medical facilities, including nearly 4,500 doctors, achieving a ratio of 10 doctors per 10,000 people.

With a highly skilled medical workforce, many hospitals in the province have successfully implemented numerous new and advanced techniques across all major specialties, including internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics, and pediatrics. Notable procedures include open-heart surgery, endoscopic cardiac surgery, extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), therapeutic hypothermia, endoscopic joint replacement, percutaneous nephrolithotomy, endoscopic orthopedic surgery, general laparoscopic surgery, bronchoscopy, and blood exchange transfusion.

In addition to provincial-level hospitals, regional general hospitals and regional medical centers have also successfully implemented a range of new medical techniques. As a result, many critically ill patients have been saved in a timely manner. Notable examples include: Long Khanh Regional General Hospital, which established an interventional cardiology unit that has saved numerous patients suffering from severe myocardial infarction; Dinh Quan Regional General Hospital, which introduced techniques for treating stroke and myocardial infarction using fibrinolytic therapy; and the regional medical centers in Xuan Loc and Cam My, which have performed many complex surgeries and implemented hemodialysis services, helping local patients avoid the need to travel long distances for treatment.

Le Thanh Long, Specialist Level II and Director of Phuoc Long Regional Medical Center, stated that the center is a multifunctional unit responsible for professional and technical tasks in preventive medicine, medical examination and treatment, rehabilitation, food safety, and population health. In recent years, the center has achieved significant results in COVID-19 prevention and control, quality improvement, and the application of information technology in medical services. During the 2020–2025 period, the center was recognized as an Excellent Labor Collective for four consecutive years, received the Emulation Flag from the People's Committee of Binh Phuoc (former), and was awarded Certificates of Merit by the People's Committee of Binh Phuoc (former) on four occasions. In 2024, Phuoc Long Regional Medical Center represented the Binh Phuoc (former) health sector and won first prize in the National Excellent Grassroots Healthcare Competition, held in Hanoi.

Do Thi Nguyen, Director of the Dong Nai Department of Health, stated that this is necessary to ensure comprehensive healthcare for the population. In line with the directives of leaders at all levels, the province's health sector has been and continues to make strong investments in grassroots healthcare. This undertaking includes building new facilities, upgrading existing ones, and equipping health stations and medical centers with modern machinery and equipment, as well as implementing policies to attract and retain doctors and nurses for long-term service. In addition, the sector has intensified the implementation of Project 1816 by the Ministry of Health, which deploys medical professionals from higher-level hospitals to support lower-level facilities, aiming to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment. These efforts contribute to strengthening the capacity of grassroots-level personnel, meeting the growing demand for primary healthcare, and reducing pressure on higher-level hospitals.

According to the Director of the Dong Nai Department of Health, in the time ahead, the health sector will implement a comprehensive set of measures to promote the all-round development of physical health, intelligence, stature, and life expectancy for the province's population. This undertaking involves completing the universal health database and establishing an integrated electronic health management system that spans from the commune level to the provincial level. The sector will also intensify the application of artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and cloud computing in medical examination and treatment, epidemiological surveillance, and hospital management. At the same time, it will promote the development of smart hospital models, paperless hospitals, and strengthen remote medical examination and treatment.

In addition, the sector will continue to strengthen preventive medicine, ensure effective epidemic control, and improve the management of chronic and non-communicable diseases. It will promote the comprehensive and equitable development of grassroots healthcare, meeting the primary healthcare needs of the population, especially in remote, mountainous, and ethnic minority areas. The sector will also implement policies to effectively develop the healthcare workforce, with a focus on doctors with advanced specializations and leading experts, while enhancing medical ethics and communication skills among healthcare workers to improve patient satisfaction.

By H.D – Translated by Mai Nga, Minho