Viet Nam plans to issue electronic health security cards to its citizens verifying their right to medical services, the Government Office said on Monday.

The healthcare security card will make it more convenient for patients to access insurance plans and health care. Photo by VnExpress Photo Contest/Dang Phuong Lan

Just as a social security card shows that a person has a lifetime account used to calculate their pension benefits, the healthcare security card will make it more convenient for patients to access insurance plans and health care.

The push to digitize the system is aimed at seamless healthcare delivery and insurance across the country.

With the new system, electronic healthcare registries in all 63 cities and provinces will be synced together so that regardless of whether a cardholder changes their job, move to a different place or have pre-existing medical conditions, insurance plans will have to accept all cardholders.

The electronic system will also make insurance payments faster and more transparent through digital transactions.

The Viet Nam Social Security Administration is in charge of developing a plan to sync health security, social security and unemployment insurance on one electronic card.

About 75 million Vietnamese people, equal to about 81% of the population, have registered for the national health insurance programme. The government aims to lift healthcare coverage to 91% of its population.

However, it is still unclear about how the government will prevent the fraudulent use of the cards or how they will protect the privacy of patients and their medical records.

Viet Nam is also working on electronic immunization records that will make it easier to track vaccination data and make sure children get their shots at the recommended ages.

(Source: VnExpress/ International)