Socializing Health Services

In recent years, Phu Tho province has achieved very good outcomes in public health protection, care and improvement, with most of the targets obtained satisfactorily. The health system at all levels has been strengthened and consolidated. Infectious diseases have been controlled and no pandemic outbreaks have occurred in the province so far. These results come from joint efforts of the health sector, including the private sector.

Carrying out Decree 69/ND-CP dated May 30, 2008 of the Government and directions of the Provincial People's Committee, the Department of Health has coordinated with other sectors and advised to provincial authorities to issue many important health documents like Phu Tho Health System Development Plan to 2015, with a vision to 2020 (approved by the Provincial People’s Committee in Decision 3409/QD-UBND dated November 24, 2008, revised and supplemented in Decision 3278/QD-UBND dated October 18, 2010 and Decision 1502/QD-UBND dated June 12, 2012); Resolution 34/2011/NQ-HDND dated December 12, 2011 of the Provincial People's Committee on socialization policies on education, vocational training, health, culture, sports and environment fields in Phu Tho province.

The health sector has also encouraged medical units to socialize health services by entering into medical equipment joint ventures, borrowing and mobilizing capital investment sources for medical facilities and equipment. Following the Ordinance on private medical and pharmaceutical practices (later the Law on Disease Examination and Treatment and the Law on Pharmacy), the Phu Tho Health Department has issued certificates of medical and pharmaceutical practices to individuals, clinics and pharmacies to promote local healthcare socialization.

To date, the province is home to 100-bed Hung Vuong private hospital (serving up to 300 beds in practice) and 156 private clinics, including 92 general and specialized clinics, 23 medical services facilities, and 41 traditional medical facilities. In the pharmaceutical sector, Phu Tho has 12 pharmaceutical companies, representative branches of companies based in other provinces, 240 retail drugstores, and 106 private pharmacies. Besides, two military-run clinics (100 beds) are also providing medical services for the people.

Phu Tho province-based health units are self-controlling staffing and financial aspects. The Provincial People's Committee has issued policies to attract high human resources, enabling the health sector to apply to entice highly qualified personnel, achieving optimistic results. Every year, the sector employs 60-100 doctors, sends 12-16 doctors to foreign specialized training, and sends many to study in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and abroad to adopt new diagnostic and treatment technologies.

Medical equipment development has expanded. General and specialized hospitals have stepped up cooperation with individuals and organizations and mobilized socialized capital for health development since 2010. Initially, socialization in hospitals has produced effective outcomes. In particular, a lot of modern equipment and machinery has been invested in, including automatic biochemical testing systems, multi-array CT scanners; magnetic resonance imaging systems - MRI; radiotherapeutic systems; 3D-4D ultrasound machines; laparoscopic surgery systems for urinary, obstetrics and gynecological diseases, knee joints; ultra-dialysis machines. Hospitals have invested in building modern sterile operating rooms. With the socialized funding, medical facilities successfully upgraded and developed medical examination and treatment services for people, such as modern, spacious, high-quality medical examination and treatment areas, modern surgery departments, modern emergency and recovery departments and inpatient treatment facilities. This progress has helped reduce the gap of medical service quality between Phu Tho province and other localities, and especially with central facilities.

Carrying out health socialization policies, the Health Department has closely worked with the Phu Tho Social Security Agency to manage and use the health insurance fund, improve health service quality, reform administrative procedures, administer medical facilities using information technology to enhance transparency in payment and quality assessment. Therefore, over the past years, benefits of health insurance policyholders have been ensured and provided access to better health services.

Source: Vietnam Business Forum