Directive No. 06/2007/CT-BYT on Improving the Quality of Medical Examination and Treatment for the People

DIRECTIVE

On improving the quality of medical examination and treatment for the people

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In recent years, the work of medical examination and treatment in the country has achieved some encouraging achievements. Primary healthcare facilities have been strengthened, with 100% communes having health stations. The quality of medical examination and treatment has gradually improved, many hospitals have been renovated and newly built; some central and provincial-level hospitals have implemented advanced medical techniques on par with those in the region, successfully treating many severe diseases, promptly rescuing major accidents, mitigating natural disasters, catastrophes, and epidemics; high-end techniques such as liver transplantation, kidney transplantation, coronary angioplasty, neurosurgery, open-heart surgery, laparoscopic surgery, and in vitro fertilization have also been implemented...

Alongside these achievements, there are still some limitations in the work of medical examination and treatment: overloading at central and some provincial-level hospitals is quite common, patients have to share beds; some units have not strictly followed regulations during the supply of medicines; there is excessive use of clinical laboratory tests, and test results are not recognized between hospitals of the same level, causing unnecessary expenses for patients; violations of professional ethics by some medical staff have not been promptly addressed, reducing public trust.

The reasons for these limitations include: some facilities still lack doctors, especially specialists and clinical laboratory technicians; the number of hospital beds for inpatient treatment is insufficient, failing to meet the demand for medical examination and treatment of the people; policies and laws on medical examination and treatment, drug supply, health insurance, and hospital fees have not been updated quickly enough to keep up with social development; there is a disparity in the quality of medical examination and treatment among hospitals and across levels despite similar hospital fees; education on medical ethics is not conducted regularly, and supervision is not continuous.

To gradually improve the quality of medical examination and treatment to meet the increasingly diverse and higher demands of the people, the Minister of Health instructs the heads of subordinate units, provincial health directors, and health leaders of various sectors to immediately implement the following activities:

1. Limiting the overload at hospitals

- In the short term, hospitals need to reasonably arrange workplaces to create additional inpatient rooms; strengthen cooperation with nearby hospitals to treat patients; establish working schedules and reasonably allocate personnel, improve procedures and processes for medical examinations to shorten waiting times for examinations and clinical laboratory tests; enhance treatment effectiveness to reduce inpatient stay duration, increase outpatient treatment; ensure drug and consumable supply for patients, preventing them from having to purchase additional drugs and consumables during inpatient stays.

- Directors of central-level hospitals should advise the Ministry of Health, while provincial and municipal health directors should advise their respective People's Committees to develop plans for hospital beds to meet the needs of medical examination and treatment of the people specifically: Strive to reduce the situation where patients must share beds to below 10% by 2009. By the end of 2010, fundamentally eliminate the sharing of beds (except in cases of natural disasters, epidemics, and widespread catastrophes...).

2. Enhancing the capacity of primary healthcare facilities

- Provincial health departments should take measures to supplement human resources and medical equipment to enhance the capacity of primary healthcare facilities, particularly district and county levels; effectively implement admission, discharge, and transfer regulations to help reduce the burden on upper-level hospitals;

- Hospitals must annually develop clear and specific guidance plans suitable for each hospital, focusing on training and technology transfer through "synchronized, on-site" methods. Strengthen cooperation between hospitals and across levels; build and implement satellite hospital models, day hospitals, home care, and family doctors (to help reduce overloading).

3. Promoting socialization in medical examination and treatment

- Hospitals need to effectively implement Decree No. 43/2006/ND-CP dated April 25, 2006 of the Government; actively mobilize various sources of capital through socialization in medical examination and treatment in various forms such as joint ventures and collaborations with organizations and individuals in modernizing hospitals, training highly qualified staff, renovating infrastructure, and upgrading medical equipment according to regulations to meet the increasing demand for medical examination and treatment of the people under limited state budget conditions;

- Encourage and create conditions for the development of private hospitals. Strive to have at least two private hospital beds per 10,000 people in provinces and centrally-administered cities by 2010.

4. Enhancing medical ethics in medical examination and treatment facilities

- Education on medical ethics for medical staff must be conducted regularly. Incorporate the movement to "Study and follow the moral example of President Ho Chi Minh," with a focus on learning and following his words "Doctors are like kind mothers," into regular unit activities. Medical staff must excel in their professional duties, strictly adhere to professional regulations, especially paying attention to their attitude when interacting with patients and their families. Avoid excessive use of drugs, clinical laboratory tests, and high-end services that cause unnecessary expenses for patients, especially those using health insurance cards.

- Rectify and maintain effective hotlines. Hotline phone numbers must be publicly displayed in places easily visible to all citizens;

- Strengthen inspection and investigation, strictly handle violations of professional regulations in medical examination and treatment facilities. Reward collectives and individuals with meritorious achievements both spiritually and materially.

5. Amending and supplementing some management documents on medical examination and treatment activities

The departments and agencies under the Ministry of Health shall promptly review and propose amendments and supplements to certain regulatory documents on medical examination and treatment activities such as hospital regulations, specialized procedures and techniques, drug supply provisions, socialization of medical equipment, documents on medical service fees policies, health insurance, preferential policies, and allowances for healthcare staff, in accordance with current circumstances, within their respective functions and assigned tasks.

This Directive shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Upon receipt of this Directive, the heads of departments, agencies, offices, and inspectors under the Ministry of Health; the heads of subordinate units under the Ministry of Health; the Directors of Health Departments of provinces and centrally governed cities; and the heads of health sectors within their respective functions, tasks, and granted authorities must develop plans, organize implementation, and report results every six months to the Ministry of Health. /./