Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan: Comprehensive health care for people, early, from afar and right from the grassroots

Dear Minister, Resolution 72-NQ/TW focuses on shifting from medical examination and treatment to comprehensive health care, how does the Ministry implement this orientation?

Minister Dao Hong Lan: In recent times, the Party and State have issued many important policies, mechanisms and strategies to promote the development of the health sector. In particular, Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW issued by the Politburo is a breakthrough orientation document, creating a foundation for the cause of caring for, protecting and improving people's health.

Resolution 72-NQ/TW is approached on the basis of taking people's health as the most valuable asset and the focus for service, implementation of tasks and solutions in the health sector. At the same time, the Resolution also clearly demonstrates the spirit of removing "bottlenecks" in the health sector that have not been fundamentally resolved for a long time.

Resolution 72-NQ/TW has mentioned the contents of the transformation in health work, in the direction of instead focusing mainly on medical examination and treatment to switch to comprehensive health care; enhancing the role and importance of disease prevention; taking care of people's health early and from afar.

The work of caring for, protecting and improving people's health will be closely linked to comprehensive health management and care throughout life. This is a huge change in the implementation of the tasks of the health sector in the coming time.

With a focused approach to remove "bottlenecks", the Ministry of Health has reported and proposed that the Government issue Resolution 282/NQ-CP on the Government's action program to implement Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW of the Politburo on a number of breakthrough solutions, enhancing protection, care and improving people's health and a specific, clear implementation plan, and progress.

It can be affirmed that after three months of implementing Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW, under the strong direction and management of the Government and the close coordination of ministries and branches, the implementation of the organization work has been strongly promoted, creating initial changes.

Notably, localities have made clear movements in the process of developing resolutions, programs and plans to concretize the spirit of Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW of the Politburo; thereby forming practical projects, solutions and policies, suitable to the practical conditions of each locality.

One of the "bottlenecks" is identified as the institution. In what direction will the Ministry of Health focus on removing this content, Minister?

Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW requires focusing on removing the second "bottleneck" of institutions. Recent practice shows that institutional shortcomings have created many bottlenecks in the organization and implementation of the health sector's tasks.

Therefore, the remaining problems, as well as the development orientation of the health sector in the coming period, will be focused on solving through perfecting institutions, policies and mechanisms for mobilizing and allocating resources. The consistent spirit is that when issuing policies, it is necessary to ensure the participation and close coordination between the State and relevant entities; at the same time, effectively combining public-private resources, promoting the role of the people in organizing the implementation of the task of caring for, protecting and improving people's health. This approach aims to clearly establish the responsibility of the political system and the whole society for health care, while creating conditions for the policy to come into life in a practical and effective way.

For the Ministry of Health, in the coming time, we will continue to review and perfect regulations and mechanisms to remove "bottlenecks", ensuring the synchronous implementation of solutions stated in Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW. The Ministry of Health has registered a law-making program for the next 5 years and the following years; in which, improving the quality of institutional building is identified as a key task, contributing to removing bottlenecks and overcoming gaps in the process of organizing the implementation of tasks of caring for, protecting and improving people's health.

Along with perfecting institutions, the requirement is to ensure suitability, feasibility and implementation efficiency. Accordingly, policy development and promulgation need to be closely linked to the implementation mechanism and the participation of relevant entities; ensure clarity and transparency in practice; mobilize the participation of all levels, sectors and the whole society in caring for, protecting and improving people's health. This is also the basis for the health sector to synchronously deploy tasks and solutions in the coming time, in accordance with the spirit of Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW.

Can the Minister please tell us, in mobilizing resources, combining State resources, health insurance funds, the private sector and the participation of the people, what will be the focus of implementation?

Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW has proposed breakthrough solutions on resource mobilization, including public and private resources; at the same time, emphasizing the role, responsibility and participation of people in the process of organizing the implementation of health care solutions.

Accordingly, to effectively promote resources for the health sector, in addition to State resources, the focus is on implementing the National Target Program in the next ten years with specific solutions, ensuring the highest efficiency. Along with that, it is necessary to mobilize and effectively use other resources, including the management and use of health insurance funds associated with the goal of public health insurance; promote the role of the medical work team in the private sector; and increase the participation of people in self-care and protection of their health.

The innovation of mechanisms and ensuring resources for people's health care in the coming time requires specific solutions to synthesize all resources. The consistent approach is to strengthen coordination, promote the participation of all levels, sectors and related entities; at the same time, institutionalize with clear and transparent policies, creating a basis for effective implementation in practice.

Can you tell us how the institutionalization of the policy of Resolution 72-NQ/TW has been and is being implemented, especially through documents submitted to the 10th session of the National Assembly?

To implement Resolution 72-NQ/TW, in recent times, in addition to actively submitting to the Government and the Government having issued very specific action programs and implementation plans as I mentioned above, the Ministry of Health has advised in the 14th session of the National Assembly many very important documents to concretize these contents.

First, developing a National Assembly Resolution on specific and breakthrough solutions in the field of health care and protection for people;

Second, submit to the National Assembly for approval the Law on Disease Prevention and the Law on Population; in which the Law on Disease Prevention has mechanisms and policies to institutionalize the contents that people are very interested in in Resolution 72-NQ/TW, such as taking care of people's health through the cycle; disease prevention is focused on as the initial solution in the work of caring for, protecting and improving people's health with specific policies. This is an important basis for the Ministry of Health to coordinate with ministries, departments and branches to develop specific implementation plans in the coming time.

Third, the Ministry of Health has advised on the National Target Program on health development and population policy for the next ten years, ensuring resources for implementing policies; when institutions and policies are issued, there are resources for implementation.

We think this is a great effort, and people are also looking forward to specific solutions being implemented in the coming time. Thereby, it will contribute to comprehensive health care for people for a healthy Vietnam.

At the same time, with three approaches from changing thinking and awareness, from specific resolution and policy solutions to ensuring the allocation of implementation resources, the implementation has been and is being implemented synchronously from the central to local levels.

With human resources and digital transformation, how does the Minister focus on meeting the requirements of comprehensive health care for people, early, remotely and right at the grassroots level?

A "bottleneck" clearly stated in Resolution 72-NQ/TW is to remove difficulties in human resources to ensure the implementation of health mechanisms and policies.

We must focus on training the team of health workers; consider training health workers as a special profession. Therefore, the issues of removing mechanisms and policies on special training for the health sector have been clearly demonstrated in the viewpoint of the Resolution of the Politburo.

At the same time, the care of human resources in the health sector, especially human resources in grassroots health care, preventive medicine and areas that need support for development, was also given policies by Resolution 72-NQ/TW as a basis for concretization in legal documents and solutions to be implemented in practice in the coming time.

Another important task is to create a mechanism for the grassroots health system to develop. To implement the goal of taking care of people's health care early, remotely and right at the grassroots level, the Ministry of Health has recently completed tasks related to implementing health care for people at the grassroots level. Through the implementation process, it has created great consensus and support, including changes in form, as well as enhancing the functions and tasks of grassroots health care.

Localities also support and implement many solutions. For example, Hanoi, Quang Ninh, Ho Chi Minh City and many other provinces and cities have had solutions to implement the tasks stated in Resolution 72-NQ/TW through very specific activities and received support from the people.

Along with that, the task of improving the quality of human resource training in the health sector was also set out. Resolution 72-NQ/TW sets out orientations, and the Ministry of Health has coordinated with the Ministry of Education and Training in the process of perfecting the legal system on training, including content related to the orientation for developing human resource training in the health sector.

In addition, with the mechanism of regimes and policies for health sector cadres and employees and policies on human resource use at grassroots levels, in the coming time, many solutions will be developed and proposed to attract cadres and employees in the health sector in general; focusing on priority areas such as preventive medicine, cadres and employees working in communes and wards - which are places that directly care for people right at the grassroots level.

Another solution is to strengthen international cooperation, apply science and technology and digital transformation in the medical sector. This is a strength that the Ministry has focused on implementing in the recent past.

Currently, the development and application of electronic medical records and electronic health books; building a database for the health sector; applying artificial intelligence in scientific research; digital transformation in the health sector to make it more convenient, more suitable and approach science and technology to enhance people's health care are being developed and implemented by the Ministry of Health very drastically with specific solutions.

In that spirit, the use of domestic resources, while absorbing the world's scientific and technical advances, will create a stronger development step in implementing specific solutions, supporting the work of caring for and protecting people's health.

Sincerely thank the Minister!

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