Vietnam's Ministry of Health and FPT jointly launch "Commune doctor"

On May 15^th, the Information Technology Department under the Ministry of Health officially launched the remote medical consultation system. People just need to install the "Commune doctor" app on CH Play and AppStore for free to make an appointment and receive medicines and many other features. The system was developed by FPT Corporation based on the telemedicine model according to Circular No. 49/2017/TT-BYT dated December 28, 2017.

The "Commune doctor" app aims at facilitating medical examination and treatment for the grassroots-level health care network, especially towards the elderly and chronic patients. The app plays a role as an online interactive channel between patients and doctors for medical appointments and remote healthcare consultation. It includes two main functions: Connect people with doctors at commune-level clinics and Connect commune doctors in need of counseling with doctors at higher level hospitals.

The software allows patients, aged 60 years old or over, with chronic disease to make medical appointments and get medicines at commune-level clinics. To enjoy these services, people only need to download the app "Commune Doctor" for their smartphones, then take a picture of their health insurance cards, their latest prescription and provide the medical information as instructed on the app.

Clinics and doctors will get their own accounts and immediately receive requests, perform medical examinations, make up prescriptions and give advice to patients. At the same time, commune doctors can make video calls with doctors at higher level hospitals or specialist doctors nationwide.

Introducing the model of examination and treatment for chronic patients at commune-level clinics contributes to reducing overcrowding in hospitals, and actively mobilizing resources at the grassroots level to get involved in health care for people.

Earlier, joining the efforts in fighting the COVID-19, the Department of Information Technology and FPT developed the Chatbot app. It was launched on the Ministry of Health’s website to automatically answer basic questions about the new coronavirus disease (Covid-19) epidemic.