Circular No. 54/2017/TT-BYT Issuing the Criteria for Applying Information Technology at Medical Examination and Treatment Facilities

CIRCULAR

Issuing the Criteria for Application of Information Technology

 at Medical Examination and Treatment Facilities

_____________________

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 75/2017/NĐ-CP dated June 20, 2017 stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;

At the request of the Director of the Department of Information Technology,

The Minister of Health issues this Circular on issuing the Criteria for Application of Information Technology at Medical Examination and Treatment Facilities.

Article 1. Scope of Regulation and Applicability

1. This Circular promulgates the Criteria for Application of Information Technology and guidelines for determining the level of application of information technology at medical examination and treatment facilities.

2. This Circular applies to medical examination and treatment facilities that have been granted operating licenses in accordance with the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment.

Article 2. Interpretation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. HIS is the abbreviation for the English term "Hospital Information System", which is translated into Vietnamese as "Hospital Information System".

2. LIS is the abbreviation for the English term "Laboratory Information System", which is translated into Vietnamese as "Laboratory Information System".

3. RIS is the abbreviation for the English term "Radiology Information System", which is translated into Vietnamese as "Radiology Information System".

4. PACS is the abbreviation for the English term "Picture Archiving and Communication System", which is translated into Vietnamese as "Picture Archiving and Communication System".

5. EMR is the abbreviation for the English term "Electronic Medical Record", which is translated into Vietnamese as "Electronic Medical Record".

6. CDR is the abbreviation for the English term "Clinical Data Repository", which is translated into Vietnamese as "Clinical Data Repository".

7. CDSS is the abbreviation for the English term "Clinical Decision Support System", which is translated into Vietnamese as "Clinical Decision Support System".

8. HL7 Standard is the abbreviation for the English term "Health Level 7 Standard", an international standard providing protocols for managing, exchanging, and integrating electronic health information between healthcare information systems.

9. HL7 CDA is the abbreviation for the English term "Health Level 7 Clinical Document Architecture", a structured document based on the XML format defining the structure and semantics of clinical data for the purpose of exchanging data among related parties.

10. CCD is the abbreviation for the English term "Continuity of Care Document", which is translated into Vietnamese as "Continuous Care Document".

11. DICOM is the abbreviation for the English term "Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine", an international standard for transmitting, storing, retrieving, printing, processing, and displaying medical imaging information.

Article 3. Issuance of the Criteria for Application of Information Technology at Medical Examination and Treatment Facilities

The Criteria for Application of Information Technology at Medical Examination and Treatment Facilities include eight groups of criteria concerning: Infrastructure, Management Software, HIS, RIS-PACS, LIS, Non-functional aspects, Information Security and Safety, and EMR, as specified in Appendix I of this Circular.

Article 4. Principles for Determining the Level of Application of Information Technology

1. The level of application of information technology at medical examination and treatment facilities is determined according to the comprehensive criteria table for evaluating the level of application of information technology at medical examination and treatment facilities, as stipulated in Appendix II of this Circular.

2. Ensuring objectivity, accuracy, and honesty.

3. All criteria at the evaluation level must be met. If there is at least one criterion not met, it will be ranked at the next lower level.

Article 5. Guidelines for determining the level of information technology application

1. Based on the provisions of Articles 3 and 4 of this Circular, the head of medical examination and treatment facilities shall decide on investment within their authority and issue a decision to determine the level of information technology application at the facility they oversee. In cases where necessary, the head of the medical examination and treatment facility may establish a specialized committee or hire an independent organization to advise on determining the level of information technology application at the facility they oversee.

2. The decision to determine the level of information technology application by medical examination and treatment facilities must be reported to the directly superior management agency and sent to the Department of Information Technology - Ministry of Health.

3. The head of medical examination and treatment facilities shall be responsible under the law and to the directly superior management agency for determining the level of information technology application at the facility they oversee; they shall have the responsibility to re-determine the level of information technology application if the higher-level health management agency finds that the level of information technology application at the medical examination and treatment facility does not match the reported documentation.

Article 6. Effectiveness

This Circular takes effect from February 27, 2018.

Article 7. Implementation Organization

1. Departments, Bureaus, General Departments, the Inspectorate of the Ministry of Health, and the Office of the Ministry of Health shall be responsible for:

a) The Department of Information Technology shall take the lead and coordinate with the Bureau of Medical Examination and Treatment to direct, guide, inspect, and supervise the implementation of this Circular; publish the level of information technology application of medical examination and treatment facilities nationwide on the Department of Information Technology's integrated website (http://ehealth.gov.vn).

b) The Office of the Ministry, the Inspectorate of the Ministry, Departments, Bureaus, and General Departments of the Ministry of Health shall cooperate with the Department of Information Technology to participate in state management of information technology application activities according to their assigned functions and tasks.

2. Provincial Health Departments and health departments of ministries and sectors shall be responsible for directing, guiding, inspecting, and supervising the implementation of this Circular within their management authority; annually in December, compile and report to the Department of Information Technology - Ministry of Health on the situation of information technology application in units under their management.

3. Medical examination and treatment facilities shall be responsible for determining the level of information technology application and submitting a written report (as prescribed in Appendix III of this Circular) to the directly superior health management agency, specifically as follows:

a) For medical examination and treatment facilities under the Ministry of Health: The written report on the level of information technology application shall be submitted to the Department of Information Technology - Ministry of Health.

b) For medical examination and treatment facilities under the management authority of the Ministry of National Defense, the written report on the level of information technology application shall be submitted to the Military Medicine Bureau - Ministry of National Defense; for medical examination and treatment facilities under the management authority of the Ministry of Public Security, the written report on the level of information technology application shall be submitted to the Public Security Health Bureau - Ministry of Public Security; for medical examination and treatment facilities under the management authority of the Ministry of Transport, the written report on the level of information technology application shall be submitted to the Transport Health Bureau - Ministry of Transport.

c) For medical examination and treatment facilities under the management authority of provincial Health Departments; medical examination and treatment facilities located in provinces and centrally-administered cities (excluding those specified in points a and b of Clause 3 of this Article): The written report on the level of information technology application shall be submitted to the provincial Health Department where the medical examination and treatment facility is headquartered.

d) Annually in December, report to the directly superior health management agency on the situation of information technology application.

During the implementation process, if there are difficulties or obstacles, organizations and individuals are advised to reflect these issues to the Ministry of Health (Department of Information Technology) for consideration and resolution./.