A resident in Bắc Giang registers for medical treatment using their citizen ID card. VNS Photo

BẮC GIANG – Bắc Giang Province is working towards adopting electronic medical records (EMRs) and integrating data connectivity among its hospitals and with Bạch Mai Hospital this year, according to the provincial Department of Health.

As of the end of May 2025, seven out of 17 public healthcare facilities in the province had implemented EMRs including Oncology Hospital, Traditional Medicine Hospital, Bắc Giang Obstetrics and Paediatrics Hospital, the Sơn Động District Medical Centre, Bắc Giang City Medical Centre, Lục Nam District Medical Centre and Tân Yên District Medical Centre.

The province aims for 100 per cent of public healthcare facilities to adopt EMRs before September 2025.

Specifically, by the end of June, three more hospitals are expected to complete assessment procedures for EMR deployment including General Hospital, Endocrinology Hospital, and Rehabilitation Hospital.

Four more facilities of the medical centres of Lục Ngạn, Hiệp Hòa, Yên Thế and Việt Yên districts are set to begin assessments by the end of July while Lung Hospital, Mental Health Hospital and Lạng Giang District Medical Centre will complete their evaluations by the end of August.

This would bring the total to 17 public healthcare facilities using EMRs.

To accelerate EMR implementation, the Bắc Giang Department of Health has formed two inspection teams led by deputy directors of the department and staffed by experts and IT specialists from relevant professional divisions and the provincial General Hospital and Traditional Medicine Hospital, who directly assist and monitor progress at healthcare units.

During inspections, the teams focus on raising awareness among healthcare workers, assessing current implementation status, and identifying challenges and bottlenecks to propose timely solutions.

Bắc Giang Province is accelerating registering for medical services by ID card at all medical facilities. VNS Photo

A dedicated Support Team for EMR Deployment has also been established within the Health Department that provides online support through a Zalo group and has appointed a provincial IT officer to directly assist the Mental Health Hospital in adopting EMRs.

A representative from the Department of Health said that the integration and data connectivity between local hospitals and Bạch Mai Hospital still face difficulties including a lack of established standards and norms for IT equipment (computers, servers, smart devices, display monitors, etc.); and an absence of technical and economic benchmarks to determine pricing for medical services performed using the PACS imaging storage and transmission system, which replaces physical film printing in the EMR system, leading to non-payment issues.

Additionally, the Social Insurance Office has not yet signed contract annexes to allow reimbursement for imaging diagnostics conducted via the PACS system. Furthermore, the current pricing structure for medical services does not include IT-related costs.

Verification of digital signatures using the Government Cipher Committee’s central server involves many steps and suffers from slow connections, impacting administrative processes. Moreover, there is still no official guidance on these procedures.

To resolve these issues, Bắc Giang Province has recommended that the Ministry of Health promptly establish minimum standards and norms for IT equipment used in EMR implementation, issue technical and economic benchmarks for pricing medical services conducted using PACS instead of printed film, and include IT costs in the pricing structure for medical services.

During a recent working session with departments and public medical facilities regarding the EMR deployment and data connectivity with Bạch Mai Hospital, Mai Sơn, standing vice chairman of the Bắc Giang People's Committee, requested that the provincial police lead and coordinate with relevant departments to assess and approve data safety documents and advise the chairman on issuing specific guidelines.

The Department of Health was also directed to collaborate with relevant units to thoroughly study the applicable legal documents and regulations to resolve existing issues.

In co-operation with Social Insurance Office Region 6, the department will explore the possibility of adopting the policy currently applied in Bắc Ninh Province, which allows for reimbursement of medical imaging services carried out via PACS instead of film at local medical facilities. VNS