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| Obstetricians at Thong Nhat General Hospital prescribe electronic medicine to patients after medical examination. Photo: Hanh Dung |
Each prescription has a unique code number.
Since 2011, Thong Nhat Dong Nai General Hospital has been prescribing and managing prescriptions on Hospital Management System (HIS) software. Prescribing on electronic software has many advantages such as reducing errors in dispensing and using drugs due to doctors' handwriting errors.
And from 2022 to present, the hospital has implemented electronic prescriptions according to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health . When a doctor prescribes a drug on the HIS system, the software will provide each prescription with a 14-character code, without duplication. Immediately after the doctor saves the prescription on the HIS system, the prescription is also connected and saved on the National Pharmacy system.
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| Prescriptions given by doctors to patients have been connected to the National Pharmacy system. Photo: Hanh Dung |
Pharmacist Bui Mai Nguyet Anh, Head of Pharmacy Department, Thong Nhat General Hospital, said: Medical examination and treatment facilities can look up a patient's medical history by entering the prescription code on the National Pharmacy system. For external drug retail facilities, when a patient provides a prescription code to request the sale of drugs, if the retail facility is connected to the National Pharmacy system, it will know whether the prescription has been sold or not.
“Pharmacies and drug stores only need to enter the prescription code into the system to know the prescription date of the prescription. Because according to regulations, drugs can only be sold within 5 days from the date of prescription. At that time, the drug retail facility will know whether the drug is sold to the patient according to regulations or not. For patients, they can download some medical apps that are connected to the system, enter the prescription code and all the information about the prescription, dosage, number of days of use will appear…”, pharmacist Nguyet Anh shared.
According to Circular 26/2025/TT-BYT dated June 30, 2025 of the Ministry of Health, before October 1, 2025, medical examination and treatment facilities organized as hospitals must prescribe drugs electronically. All other medical examination and treatment facilities must prescribe drugs electronically before January 1, 2026.
Implement in parallel with the implementation of electronic medical records
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| Pharmacists prepare medicine for patients according to prescriptions that have been linked to the system of Thong Nhat General Hospital. Photo: Hanh Dung |
According to Circular No. 26/2025/TT-BYT dated June 30, 2025 of the Ministry of Health regulating prescriptions and prescriptions of pharmaceuticals and biological products in outpatient treatment at medical examination and treatment facilities, each electronic prescription will have a personalized QR code. Patients can only buy the right type of medicine and dosage if they have a valid QR code. Electronic prescriptions must have a personal identification code, citizen identification card or passport. Information on gender, date of birth, permanent address... will be automatically synchronized by the system, helping doctors prescribe faster and reduce errors.
Circular 26 also clearly stipulates that doctors must fully record the amount of medication used each time, the number of times per day, and the total number of days of treatment, avoiding general recording or allowing patients to adjust the dosage themselves. Prescriptions of addictive drugs, psychotropic drugs, precursors, etc. are also tightened, especially for patients who have not finished using them or have passed away.
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| Patients receive outpatient health insurance medicine at Thong Nhat General Hospital. Photo: Hanh Dung |
Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh, Thanh Binh commune, said that compared to before, the outpatient examination and treatment process has been shortened and much faster. The process of getting insurance medicine is also faster.
At Dong Nai General Hospital, the implementation of electronic prescriptions is carried out in parallel with the implementation of electronic medical records. Deputy Director of the hospital Le Thi Phuong Tram said: Currently, Dong Nai General Hospital has signed contracts with partner units to prepare for the implementation of electronic medical records. At the same time, it is creating electronic medical record forms to update on the software. Then, it will train doctors to prescribe drugs and record electronic medical records. When the two electronic medical records and electronic prescription systems are completed, the hospital will store electronic prescriptions according to the patient's identification code, ensuring no duplication. Searching and extracting prescriptions that patients have used or have been prescribed by doctors will therefore be easier...
According to statistics from the Vietnam Medical Informatics Association, currently only about 12,000/60,000 medical examination and treatment facilities nationwide regularly connect to electronic prescriptions.
Doctor Pham Trung Bac, Head of the General Planning Department, Thong Nhat General Hospital, said that the hospital is also urgently implementing electronic medical records, registering digital signatures for all doctors and medical staff to implement electronic medical records and prescribe electronic drugs according to the schedule set by the Ministry of Health.
Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that the national prescription system has been put into operation with full integration of medical facility codes, doctor codes, and prescription codes. The goal that the Ministry of Health is aiming for is to be able to store about 600 million prescriptions each year, connecting medical examination and treatment facilities and drug retail establishments. The electronic prescription system will also be the foundation for building electronic health records for people, serving medical examination and treatment.
For drug retail establishments, there is now management software, so it will not cost or take more time to implement electronic prescriptions. The synchronous and effective implementation of these regulations will limit the current rampant buying and selling of drugs, especially antibiotics.
Hanh Dung - Thu Hong - Xuan Thu
Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/y-te/202507/cac-co-so-y-te-dong-nai-khan-truong-trien-khai-ke-don-thuoc-dien-tu-cb10dc4/
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