Circular No. 54/2015/TT-BYT guiding the information reporting and declaration system for infectious diseases

CIRCULAR

Guidelines on Information Reporting and Notification of Diseases and Infectious Diseases disease, infectious disease

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Pursuant to the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases dated November 21, 2007; 03/2007/Article 24H1on November 21, 2007;

Pursuant to Decree No. 63/2012/NĐ-CP dated August 31, 2012 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;Deputy ministers of ministerial-level agencies, stipulates the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;

Considering the proposal of the Director of the Preventive Medicine Department;

The Minister of Health issues this Circular guiding the information reporting and notification of infectious diseases.ẽm shall be used.

PART I

INFORMATION REPORTING ON INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Article 1. Cases Required to Report Information

1. When detecting individuals infected with infectious diseases as specified in Appendix 1 attached hereto.

2. When detecting an outbreak of infectious disease, during the operation of the outbreak, and when the outbreak ceases operations.

3. When implementing activities for prevention and control of infectious disease outbreaks.

4. When there is a request for reporting to serve surveillance, inspection, and direction in preventing and controlling infectious disease outbreaks from higher authorities.

TYPES OF REPORTS, CONTENT, TIME PERIOD FOR DATA COLLECTION,

Clause 1. The content of information reporting and notification of infectious diseases must ensure truthfulness, completeness, and timeliness. The reporting unit is responsible for the content of the report.

Clause 2. Information and reporting must be conducted in accordance with the prescribed procedures, formalities, authority, and in accordance with the forms issued together with this Circular.

Clause 3. In cases where online reporting has been implemented, there is no need for written reporting, but all relevant files must be retained at the reporting unit in accordance with Clause 1 of Article 3 of this Circular.

Article 3. Forms of Information Reporting

1. Online reporting: Directly reporting into the reporting system through the internet, while simultaneously retaining patient records for individual case reports or submitting written reports for other types of reports at the reporting unit.

2. Written reporting: In cases where online reporting cannot be implemented, units shall submit written reports via official correspondence, fax, or email.

3. Other forms: In urgent situations, telephone calls or direct reports may be made, and within 24 hours, online reporting or written reporting must be completed.

Article 4. Content of Information Reporting

1. Statistics on infectious disease cases are determined based on the date of onset of the patient.

2. Individual case reporting: The list of infectious diseases that require individual case reporting is specified in Section 1 and Section 2 of Appendix 1 attached hereto (including cases with clinical diagnoses, laboratory confirmed cases, inpatient and outpatient cases, and community-detected cases). The content of individual case reporting is carried out according to Form 1 in Appendix 2 attached hereto.

3. Weekly reporting: The content of weekly reporting is carried out according to the provisions of Form 2 in Appendix 2 attached hereto. Weekly reporting data covers seven days, from 00:00 on Monday to 24:00 on Sunday of the reporting week.

4. Monthly reporting: The content of monthly reporting is carried out according to the provisions of Form 3 and Form 4 in Appendix 2 attached hereto. The list of diseases that require monthly reporting is specified in Section 3 of Appendix 1 attached hereto. Monthly reporting data covers from 00:00 on the first day to 24:00 on the last day of the reporting month.

5. Annual reporting: The content of annual reporting is carried out according to the provisions of Form 5 and Form 6 in Appendix 2 attached hereto. Annual reporting data covers from 00:00 on the first day to 24:00 on the last day of the reporting year.

6. Outbreak reporting (including reporting of detected outbreaks, ongoing outbreaks, and termination of outbreaks): The content of outbreak reporting is carried out according to the provisions of Form 7, Form 8, and Form 9 in Appendix 2 attached hereto. Daily reporting data covers from 00:00 to 24:00 of the reporting day.

7. Ad hoc reporting: The content and data of ad hoc reporting are carried out according to the requirements of higher authorities for specific tasks.

Article 5. Reporting Procedure

The reporting procedure shall be carried out according to the organization chart of the infectious disease reporting information system as stipulated in Appendix 3 attached hereto, specifically as follows:

1. Health units, medical offices, diagnostic centers, family doctors, and village health workers when detecting suspected cases of infectious diseases listed in Sections 1, 2, and 3 of Appendix 1 attached hereto, shall immediately notify the Commune Health Station on their local territory to conduct investigation, verification, and report infectious diseases and epidemics in accordance with regulations.

2. The Commune Health Station shall be responsible for receiving, investigating, verifying information, and reporting infectious disease data recorded within its territory to the District Health Center within the following timeframes:

a) Case Report: Complete the report within 24 hours or 48 hours from the time of diagnosis as specified in Sections 1 and 2 of Appendix 1 attached hereto;

b) Weekly Report: Complete the report before 14:00 on Tuesday of the following week;

c) Monthly Report: Complete the report before the fifth day of the following month;

d) Updating case reports and monthly reports: When receiving lists of patients residing within the territory who have been treated elsewhere provided by the District Health Center, the Commune Health Station shall be responsible for investigating and verifying the information. If discrepancies in the information or inability to verify the patient's address are discovered, the Commune Health Station shall report to the District Health Center within 24 hours to update the information.

3. General hospitals at the district level, city-level general hospitals (hereinafter referred to as district hospitals) shall be responsible for reporting and updating infectious disease information at their units to the District Health Center within the following timeframes:

a) Case Report: Complete the report within 24 hours or 48 hours from the time of diagnosis as specified in Sections 1 and 2 of Appendix 1 attached hereto;

b) Monthly Report: Complete the report before the fifth day of the following month. The list of infectious diseases that must be reported monthly is specified in Section 3 of Appendix 1 attached hereto;

c) Updating case reports and monthly reports: Within 24 hours from changes in diagnosis, confirmation by laboratory diagnosis, discharge, transfer, death, or changes in personal information.

4. Provincial general hospitals, specialized hospitals under central cities (hereinafter referred to as provincial hospitals), private hospitals shall be responsible for reporting and updating infectious disease information at their units to the Provincial Preventive Health Center and reporting and updating malaria and parasitic and insect-borne disease information to the Provincial Malaria Prevention Center within the following timeframes:

a) Case Report: Complete the report within 24 hours or 48 hours from the time of diagnosis as specified in Sections 1 and 2 of Appendix 1 attached hereto;

b) Monthly Report: Complete the report before the fifth day of the following month. The list of infectious diseases that must be reported monthly is specified in Section 3 of Appendix 1 attached hereto;

c) Updating case reports and monthly reports: Within 24 hours from changes in diagnosis, confirmation by laboratory diagnosis, discharge, transfer, death, or changes in personal information.

5. Central hospitals, hospitals, and health centers under ministries and sectors shall be responsible for reporting and updating infectious disease information at their units to the Hygiene and Epidemiology Institutes, Pasteur Institutes, Institute of Malariology, Parasitology, and Entomology, and Provincial Preventive Health Centers, Provincial Malaria Prevention Centers within the following timeframes:

a) Case Report: Complete the report within 24 hours or 48 hours from the time of diagnosis as specified in Sections 1 and 2 of Appendix 1 attached hereto;

b) Monthly Report: Complete the report before the fifth day of the following month. The list of infectious diseases that must be reported monthly is specified in Section 3 of Appendix 1 attached hereto;

c) Updating case reports and monthly reports: Within 24 hours from changes in diagnosis, confirmation by laboratory diagnosis, discharge, transfer, death, or changes in personal information.

6. The District Health Center is responsible for compiling data on infectious diseases from the Commune Health Stations, the District Hospital, and implementing reports and updating information to the Provincial Preventive Health Center and the Provincial Malaria Control Center according to the following schedule:

6. The District Health Center shall be responsible for compiling infectious disease data from the Commune Health Stations and district hospitals and reporting and updating information to the Provincial Preventive Health Center and Provincial Malaria Prevention Center within the following timeframes:

a) Case Report: Complete the report within 24 hours from receiving reports from the Commune Health Stations and district hospitals;

b) Weekly Report: Complete the weekly epidemic prevention activities report of the Commune Health Station and District Health Center before 14:00 on Wednesday of the following week;

c) Monthly Report: Complete the report before the tenth day of the following month based on the patient lists received from the Commune Health Stations, district hospitals, and Provincial Preventive Health Center;

d) Updating case reports and monthly reports: Within 24 hours from receiving feedback from the Commune Health Station regarding discrepancies in personal information of the case, the District Health Center shall update the information into the reporting system. In cases where the patient's address cannot be verified, the District Health Center shall coordinate with the district hospital to reverify the information if the case was reported by the district hospital or report to the Provincial Preventive Health Center if the cases were reported by provincial or central-level healthcare facilities;

e) Epidemic Focus Report: Immediately report the epidemic focus upon discovery, ensuring it is not later than 24 hours from the time of discovery. Subsequently, daily updates on the epidemic situation (before 10:00) until the epidemic ends and a final report within 48 hours from the end of the epidemic activity.

g) Information Feedback: Before 10:00 every day, the District Health Center shall send the Commune Health Station a list of cases within the commune reported through the Ministry of Health's online reporting system to conduct investigation, verification, and epidemic prevention work.

7. The Provincial Preventive Health Center, Provincial Malaria Prevention Center shall be responsible for reporting and updating information to the Hygiene and Epidemiology Institutes, Pasteur Institutes, Institute of Malariology, Parasitology, and Entomology according to the procedures and timeframes as follows:

a) Weekly Report: Complete the weekly epidemic prevention activities report of their unit before 14:00 on Wednesday of the following week;

b) Monthly Report: When receiving the list of individuals with notifiable infectious diseases from the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pasteur Institutes, central-level hospitals, provincial hospitals, and provincial Centers for Disease Control, they shall be responsible for compiling and submitting the report to the district health centers before the 8th day of the following month for monthly reporting purposes;

c) Annual Report: The provincial Centers for Disease Control and provincial Malaria Prevention Centers shall be responsible for compiling and submitting the annual report in writing to the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pasteur Institutes, or the Institute of Malaria - Parasitology - Entomology responsible for the region (for malaria, parasitic, and insect-borne diseases) before January 15 of the following year;

d) Updating information on case reports and monthly reports: Upon receiving the test results of disease samples from the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pasteur Institutes, and the Institute of Malaria - Parasitology - Entomology, within 24 hours, the provincial Centers for Disease Control and provincial Malaria Prevention Centers shall coordinate with relevant units to update the information according to regulations. In cases where the addresses of patients cannot be verified, within 24 hours, the provincial Centers for Disease Control and provincial Malaria Prevention Centers shall coordinate with relevant units to reverify the information and update it according to regulations;

8. International Health Quarantine Centers and provincial Centers for Disease Control shall be responsible for reporting suspected cases and infectious diseases detected at border areas to the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pasteur Institutes, the Institute of Malaria - Parasitology - Entomology, provincial Centers for Disease Control, and provincial Malaria Prevention Centers;

9. The Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pasteur Institutes, and the Institute of Malaria - Parasitology - Entomology shall be responsible for reporting to the Ministry of Health (Preventive Medicine Department) according to the following procedures and timelines:

a) Weekly Report: To be completed before 14:00 on Wednesday of the following week;

b) Monthly Report: Upon receiving the list of individuals with notifiable infectious diseases that need to be reported monthly from central-level hospitals, hospitals, and health centers under various ministries and departments, the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, and Pasteur Institutes shall be responsible for compiling and submitting the list to the provincial Centers for Disease Control before the 7th day of the following month;

c) Annual Report: The Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pasteur Institutes, and the Institute of Malaria - Parasitology - Entomology shall work together with the provincial Centers for Disease Control, provincial Malaria Prevention Centers, and related units to review and unify data to submit the annual report in writing to the Ministry of Health (Preventive Medicine Department, Medical Examination and Treatment Management Department) before January 31 of the following year;

d) Updating information on case reports and monthly reports: The Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pasteur Institutes, and the Institute of Malaria - Parasitology - Entomology shall coordinate with relevant units to verify the information of patients treated at central-level hospitals, hospitals, and health centers under various ministries and departments when local authorities cannot verify their addresses, and instruct the provincial Centers for Disease Control and provincial Malaria Prevention Centers to update the information according to regulations;

10. Health Departments of counties, districts, towns, cities directly under provinces, and Health Departments of provinces and centrally-administered municipalities (hereinafter referred to as Health Departments) shall be responsible for compiling infectious disease data in their jurisdictions from the Ministry of Health's online reporting system to direct epidemic prevention and control efforts in their areas;

Chapter II

 NOTIFICATION AND REPORTING OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Article 6. Obligation to Report Infectious Diseases

In areas where infectious diseases are occurring, individuals who have contracted or are suspected of contracting infectious diseases, or those who discover cases of infectious disease, shall be responsible for reporting the disease to village health workers, commune health stations, or the nearest health authority within 24 hours from the time of discovery, as stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 47 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases.

Article 7. Obligation to Report Infectious Diseases

Upon receiving information about infectious diseases from the public or upon discovering cases of infectious diseases or suspected cases thereof, healthcare facilities must report to preventive health authorities for investigation and verification within 24 hours. If the information is confirmed to be accurate, the preventive health authority must report to the state management agency for health at the location where the outbreak occurs, as specified in Clause 2 of Article 47 of the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, and report into the online reporting system of the Ministry of Health according to the provisions of this Circular.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 8. Responsibility for Implementation

1. Responsibilities of Units under the Ministry of Health:

a) Preventive Medicine Department:

- Develop plans, direct and guide the implementation of this Circular, organize inspections and supervision of its implementation nationwide;

- Serve as the central unit managing and storing infectious disease databases;

- Be the sole entity authorized by the Minister of Health to make international notifications regarding infectious diseases.

b) Medical Examination and Treatment Management Department:

- Direct, guide, inspect, supervise, and urge medical examination and treatment facilities across the country to implement this Circular;

- Ensure data collection systems at medical examination and treatment facilities, unify medical record formats including electronic records to facilitate, ensure completeness and timeliness of information reporting and disease notification by medical examination and treatment facilities in accordance with this Circular;

c) Institutes of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Pasteur Institutes, Institutes of Malaria - Parasitology - Entomology:

- Guide provincial preventive health units within their jurisdiction to implement this Circular;

- Direct professionally and technically, organize inspections, supervision, and evaluation of information reporting and disease notification at units in various levels within their jurisdiction.

d) Central-level hospitals: Allocate personnel, equipment, and funding to carry out information reporting and disease notification work. Closely cooperate with preventive health units in sample collection, sharing samples or pathogen strains for definitive diagnosis.

2. Responsibilities of Health Authorities under Ministries, Sectors, and Private Hospitals:

a) Allocate staff, equipment, and funding to carry out information reporting and disease notification work.

b) Closely cooperate with local preventive health units in sample collection, sharing samples or pathogen strains for definitive diagnosis.

3. Responsibilities of Provincial Health Departments and Local Health Units:

a) Provincial Health Department: Direct and organize the implementation of this Circular within its jurisdiction; bear responsibility for monitoring, inspecting, and urging units to implement it. Advise provincial People's Committees to allocate funds for units to deploy and maintain information reporting and disease notification work.

b) Local health units: Have the responsibility to allocate specialized staff, equipment, and funding to carry out information reporting and disease notification work.

Article 9. Transitional Provisions

For provinces that have implemented the Provincial Center for Disease Control model as prescribed in Joint Circular No. 51/2015/TTLT-BYT-BNV dated December 11, 2015, issued by the Minister of Health and the Minister of Home Affairs guiding the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of provincial health departments under provincial people's committees and district health departments under district people's committees, the unit implementing the Provincial Center for Disease Control model will replace the provincial preventive health center to perform reporting as prescribed in this Circular.

Article 10. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from July 1, 2016.

2. Circular No. 48/2010/TT-BYT dated December 31, 2010, of the Minister of Health guiding the regime of disease reporting, information, and reporting of infectious diseases becomes invalid from the date this Circular takes effect.

During implementation, if there are difficulties or obstacles, units should report to the Ministry of Health (Preventive Medicine Department) for research and resolution./.