Bach Mai Hospital, one of the major hospitals in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi, has saved VND80 billion ($3.2 million) per year by digitizing medical records, imaging results, and test orders, said its director Associate Professor-Dr. Dao Xuan Co.
This is one of the four benefits of the transformation that Dr. Co shared at a session on implementing electronic medical records and overcoming challenges in hospital digitalization.
The savings are reinvested into upgrading the hospital’s digital infrastructure, Dr. Co said, emphasizing that automation reduces administrative tasks, shortens patient wait times, and boosts medical staff efficiency. Digital records also minimize errors caused by illegible handwriting, ensure fast and complete access to patient histories, and support personalized treatment plans. Additionally, they enable seamless data sharing between healthcare facilities, crucial for managing chronic diseases and long-term care.
Furthermore, electronic records provide valuable data for medical research and policy planning, laying the foundation for artificial intelligence (AI) and big data applications in diagnostics and treatment, he added.
However, he acknowledged challenges such as adapting to new work habits, cybersecurity risks, investment costs, and regulatory barriers in procurement and IT staffing. (Suc Khoe Doi Song)