HÀ NỘI —
The Ministry of Health plans to expand the family doctor model to 80 per cent
of provinces and cities nationwide by 2020, participants heard at an online
conference yesterday.
"Priority
will be given to establishing the family doctor model at the grass-roots level,
including in commune health clinics offering family medicine, private
family-doctor clinics and family-doctor clinics operating under State-owned
general hospitals," Health Minister Nguyễn Thị Kim Tiến said at the event.
“The
model will provide continuous basic healthcare services to families,
individuals and the community in an effort to improve the quality of primary
healthcare and to reduce hospital congestion,” Tiến said.
She said
the model had faced several challenges due to a shortage of funding sources and
human resources specialised in family medicine. There are still only a few
private family-doctor clinics available as the model has not attracted
investment from the private sector.
Many
people still do not know much about the model and the role of a family doctor
in providing primary healthcare for the community.
Speaking
at the event, Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam said the health sector should
strengthen the capacity of primary healthcare, including health exams,
treatment, consultations and preventive medicine, at health clinics in
mountainous, remote, border and island areas.
Đam also
asked the health ministry to develop the healthcare system at the grass-roots
level along with the family doctor model and propose financial resources and
priorities for the expansion of the country’s grass-roots healthcare system.
At the
event, participants agreed that the family doctor model should be integrated
with the country’s 14,000 commune health clinic system.
The
health sector suggested that provinces and cities should pay more attention and
call for further investment in expanding the family doctor model based on their
existing commune health clinic system.
Provincial
health departments have been requested to study the status of commune health
clinics and local demand to develop a strategy for expanding the model in their
localities.
Medical
universities have also been asked to increase the number of training courses
offered on family-doctor medicine. The community should have greater awareness
of the family doctor model and its benefits to encourage people to use the
services of family doctors.
Statistics
from the health ministry showed that 336 family-doctor clinics, including six
private clinics, have been established in six provinces and cities nation-wide
by June 2016. They provide basic healthcare services, including services
covered by the health insurance fund.
Three
years after rolling out the family doctor plan, family-doctor clinics have
shown remarkable results in providing services related to health exams and
treatment, rehabilitation and patient management for people and families in the
community.
Some
clinics, such as the Thành Công Private Clinic and the Family Doctor Clinic at
the District 2 Hospital in HCM City, have received positive feedback from
patients and health managers in the application of e-medical records and clinic
management software and the regular provision of online consultations.
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