Addressing the event, deputy head of the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Publicity and Education Nguyen Thanh Long said the implementation of the Party’s guidelines and policies in the healthcare sector has achieved extremely positive results. Nevertheless, he noted, there still exist shortcomings that need to be solved to facilitate the development of the healthcare sector in localities.

To that end, Long said, the Party’s guidelines and policies on healthcare must be enhanced both in quantity and quality. The practice should stay focused more on issues related to health insurance, especially the promotion of health insurance in localities, coordination between social security and healthcare sectors, the role and responsibility of State management bodies as well as the role of Party Committees and administrations at all levels in the management of the Health Insurance Fund, and so on.

A view of the workshop.

At the workshop, participants discussed a variety of issues currently facing the healthcare sector, such as: the implementation of Directive No 38-CT/TW on health insurance and matters related to ensure equality and efficiency in health insurance; the revision of the Law on Health Insurance; health insurance management models; the HIV/AIDS epidemic and prevention and control in Viet Nam; the importance of HIV viral suppression for patients, health workers and the community; outcomes of the implementation of the Party Central Committee’s Resolution No 20-NQ/TW on the traditional healthcare sector; and experiences in community healthcare in localities, among others.

In regard to health insurance, deputy head Nguyen Thanh Long said the Commissions for Publicity and Education in provinces and cities should advise local Party Committees and strengthen the dissemination of health insurance to ensure sustainability and stability. Concurrently, it should accelerate the development of episode-of-care payment mechanisms, ensuring transparency, coordination and consistency of competent agencies in the implementation of health insurance, which will help reduce the burden on medical facilities. Regarding HIV/AIDS, Long called for relevant localities, ministries and sectors to continue dissemination of information, and consider prevention and special prevention as fundamental to effective treatment.

Regarding recommendations put forward at the workshop, Long said the Central Commission for Publicity and Education and Ministry of Health would take them into consideration to make reports to the Politburo and the Secretariat of the Party Central Committee as well as suggestions for developing the Party and State’s guidelines and policies on healthcare, and for preparing documents of the 13th National Congress of the Party./.