Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said at a ceremony held on April 18 to launch two applications in COVID-19 prevention and control in Hà Nội that in the field of medical examination, treatment and consultation, the use of information technology has helped to solve many problems such as providing online healthcare for patients while they are at home or providing remote consultation for hospitals at lower level from experts at hospitals in higher level. The ministry has also applied information technology in COVID-19 prevention and control activities, providing remote consultation for COVID-19 patient treatment effectively.

The Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management established a centre managing and administering professional support for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 patients, according to Long.

Luong Ngoc Khue, deputy head of Treatment Sub-committee of the National Steering Committee for COVID-19 prevention and control, provides online consultation with hospitals.

The centre often hosts online consultation with the participation of top health experts on serious cases, discussing treatment methods for patients and sharing treatment and healthcare experience.

Therefore, the application of information and technology has helped to gather top health experts and connect hospitals so there seems to have no gap between hospitals in the South and the North as well as between hospitals in central level with hospitals at lower levels.

Patients treated at hospitals at lower level have health treatment like those treated at hospitals at higher level as top medical experts are willing to provide online treatment consultation for any patient when necessary. 

Deputy minister Long said the establishment of the centre marked the development of the health examination and treatment in the context of global integration, applying scientific and technological development in health treatment, particularly for patients with dangerous disease like COVID-19.

So far, all serious COVID-19 patients in Viet Nam have been regularly consulted by top medical experts of the country, thus serious cases have been successfully treated.

The most serious case at present is the British pilot who was Viet Nam’s 91st COVID-19 patient. He is being treated at the HCM City Hospital for Tropical Diseases. Leaders of the health ministry hoped that he could be saved with great efforts of medical workers./.