HCM City (VNS/VNA) -The shift towards electronic payment is now an established trend with half of HoChi Minh City’s public hospitals embracing it, health authorities have said.

The number is expected toincrease in the next few years as part of the healthcare sector’s efforts toimprove hospital management and patients’ satisfaction, they said.

People can easily make an appointmentfor check-ups and treatment and pay hospital bills from their mobile phonesinstead of visiting the hospital and standing in long queues from very early inthe morning.

Bui Thi Ngo, 62, from Tan BinhDistrict, an inpatient at Cho Ray Hospital, said she regularly has check-upsand treatment at the hospital’s urology department.

“It is a little confusing sinceit was the first time I had to use a debit card to pay my medical bills.”

She was shown how to use thecard and it took around 10 minutes to make the payment, she said.

Next time she would not carry alot of money like she used to when visiting the hospital, she said.

The card is integrated withpatients’ personal information and medical history.

It can be used for registeringfor diagnosis without having to furnish other papers such as health insurancecards and medical reports.

Nguyen Tri Thuc, Director of theCho Ray Hospital, said that as a major general hospital in the south itprovides diagnosis and treatment to nearly 10,000 patients a day.

The adoption of the electronicpayment system in May helped reduce administrative costs, patients’ waitingtime and pickpocketing, a common problem at major hospitals, he said.

It is convenient for follow-upexaminations and eliminating touts at the hospital, another long-standingproblem at many hospitals, he said.

The University Medical Centrein HCM City, one of the pioneers of electronic payments, began using thetechnology in 2016.

It has various cashless paymentmethods now such as internet banking and cards.

It has tied up with 23 banksand e-wallets to offer QR Code payment services.

Dang Anh Long, head of thehospital’s finance and accounting department, said cashless payments, aninevitable trend, would help reduce costs associated with handling cash.

It also benefits patients interms of safety since they could pay the bills with their mobile phones and donot have to carry around cash, according to Long.

Noncash payment now accountsfor 37 percent of payment of medical bills at the hospital.

The figure is expected to riseto 40 percent this year and 45 percent in the following years.

The entrenched habit ofusing cash for routine daily purchases is a major obstacle to adoptingcashless payment, according to bank officials.

Investment in informationtechnology infrastructure at hospitals is needed for the adoption of electronicpayment systems at hospitals.

Tran Van Duc, head of thehospital’s IT department, said it had to install IT infrastructure to thehighest level mandated by the Ministry of Health's Information TechnologyDepartment and its own tailored software, making it easier to connect withbanks and payment service providers.

Top-notch IT infrastructuremeant personal information would be protected from cyberattacks, he said.

Nguyen Thanh Tung, deputygeneral director of Vietcombank, said electronic payment was a solution tostreamline the system at hospitals.

Deputy Minister of Health NguyenTruong Son said as adoption of information and communication technology increasedin healthcare, electronic payment systems were a key technology that everyhospital should exploit.

"Cashless payment is theGovernment’s preferred option for improving transparency in all examination andtreatment processes," he said.

Hospitals with financialautonomy could decide how much to invest in ICT and electronic payment systems,he said.

The city People’s Committee hasordered departments to put more efforts into promoting e-payment for publicservices, one of the priorities in creating a smart city./.