The “Solutions to enhance the quality of health insurance-covered medical checkup and treatment services at district-level facilities in the Northwestern region” project is led by the Department of Health Insurance Implementation under VSS; and VSS Deputy Director General Nguyen Duc Hoa is chairman of the Advisory Council. On behalf of the research team, Head of the project, Dr. Tran Thi Phuong Diu, presented a summary report of the Project’s content before the Advisory Council.

Although there have been numerous researches on this topic, none of them targets districts in the Northwestern region. Besides, there are few studies using econometric models to estimate factors affecting different levels of satisfaction of patients using health insurance. Therefore, the “Solutions to enhance the quality of health insurance-covered medical checkup and treatment services at district-level facilities in the Northwestern region” project touches on a new topic and offers an approach from a new perspective, which aims to provide not only theoretical grounds and information related to the quality of health insurance-covered medical examination and treatment services, but also objective assessment and analyses of patient satisfaction using health insurance.

The project will systematise theoretical bases and make a qualitative and quantitative assessment of  the quality of health insurance-covered medical examination and treatment services at district-level healthcare facilities in the Northwestern region, based on which to propose solutions to help improve the quality of health insurance-covered medical examination and treatment services at district-level healthcare facilities, reducing the burden for medical facilities at higher levels. The move aims to improve patient satisfaction and contribute to enhanced efficiency of health insurance policies.

A general view of the meeting

“The project’s outcomes will surely be a scientific foundation, providing objective, comprehensive and detailed assessments of facets of the quality of health insurance-covered medical examination and treatment services at district-level healthcare facilities in the Northwestern region, which will be the basis to propose health insurance policy implications for people in the region, ensuring the compatibility among the three aspects of “people”, “administrative procedure”, and “means”, said Dr. Diu.

“The research results are of high applicability to enhance the management capacity and quality of health insurance-covered medical examination and treatment services at district-level healthcare facilities in the Northwestern region, and are valuable reference for relevant units,” she added.

Illustrative image (VSS)

The topic is highly spoken of by scientists and the Advisory Council’s prestigious members as it is very suitable and practical to the sector. On the occasion, the Advisory Council members discussed and made certain comments to help the lead researchers have proper research orientations.

Concluding the meeting, VSS Deputy Director General, the Advisory Council chairman, Nguyen Duc Hoa, spoke highly of the necessity and practicality of the project. He also requested the head of the research team to keep in mind comments made by the Advisory Council members to adjust the content and research approaches and methods of the project scientifically and effectively. Finally, the Advisory Council unanimously approved the project, assigning the Department of Health Insurance Implementation to work with the project’s lead researchers to complete the presentation according to the Advisory Council’s conclusions./.