Vietnam: Does the hospital send information about positive HIV test results in medical records to the commune when an individual has a traffic accident and is found to be infected with HIV?
- Vietnam: Does the hospital send information about positive HIV test results in medical records to the commune when an individual has a traffic accident and is found to be infected with HIV?
- Vietnam: Do HIV-infected people have to send information about their positive HIV test results in the medical record to the commune?
- What are requirements for provision of information, education and communication on HIV/AIDS prevention and control in Vietnam?
Vietnam: Does the hospital send information about positive HIV test results in medical records to the commune when an individual has a traffic accident and is found to be infected with HIV?
Pursuant to Article 10 of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023 on the right to respect, health protection and privacy in healthcare:
Right to respect, health protection and privacy in healthcare
1. Patients shall gain respect in terms of their age, gender, ethnicity, religion, personal belief, health status, economic condition, and social status.
2. Patients’ information contained in medical records, and other information about private life that they have provided to practitioners during the course of medical examination and treatment shall be kept confidential, unless as the patient agrees to share information as permitted by laws, or as specified in clause 3 and 4 of Article 69 herein.
3. Patients shall not suffer from stigma, discrimination, mistreatment, physical or sexual abuse during the course of medical examination and treatment.
4. Patients shall not be forced into clinical services, except if they are classified as those subject to involuntary treatment requirements as defined in clause 1 of Article 82 herein.
At the same time, according to the provisions of Clauses 3 and 4, Article 69 of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023 regarding medical records:
Medical record
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3. Access to medical records of patients in treatment shall be as follows:
a) Learners, students, trainees, researchers of research institutions, training institutions, medical practitioners, persons directly involved in the treatment of patients at medical establishments may read medical records, and may copy medical records only when obtaining the consent from the safekeeping medical establishments;
b) Practitioners from other medical establishments may read and copy them with the consent of the safekeeping medical establishments.
4. Access to medical records of patients completing treatment that are kept as archives shall be as follows:
a) Representatives of state management agencies in charge of health, investigative agencies, procuracies, courts, health inspectors, forensic organizations, forensic psychiatrists, and patients' lawyers shall be allowed to access and provide medical records to perform their tasks in accordance with relevant laws;
b) Learners, students, trainees, researchers of research institutions, training institutions, medical practitioners at medical establishments may borrow medical records to read on the spot, or may copy medical records for later use in their researches or the work relating to their professional expertise with the consent of the safekeeping medical establishments;
c) Representatives of social insurance agencies or state compensation settlement agencies may borrow medical records to read or take notes on the spot, or request copies of the given medical records to serve the purpose of performing their assigned tasks with the consent of the safekeeping medical establishments;
d) Patients or their representatives specified in point c and d of clause 2 of Article 8 herein shall be entitled to read, view, copy and take notes from their medical records, and be provided with medical record summaries upon written request;
dd) Patients’ representatives specified in point a and d of clause 2 of Article 8 herein shall be entitled to medical record summaries upon written request.
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In addition, according to the provisions of Point d, Clause 1, Article 4 of the Law on HIV/AIDS prevention and control 2006, rights and obligations of HIV-infected people include:
Rights and obligations of HIV-infected people
1. HIV-infected people have the following rights:
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d/ To have their privacy related to HIV/AIDS kept confidential;
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Thus, patients’ information contained in medical records, and other information about private life that they have provided to practitioners during the course of medical examination and treatment shall be kept confidential, unless as the patient agrees to share information as permitted by laws, or as specified in clause 3 and 4 of Article 69 of this Law.
In other words, in the case of a patient being involved in a traffic accident and being discovered to be HIV positive, the positive HIV test result will be kept confidential in the medical record.
Patients’ information contained in medical records, and other information about private life that they have provided to practitioners during the course of medical examination and treatment may only be shared when the patient agrees, or as specified in clause 3 and 4 of Article 69 of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023.
Vietnam: Does the hospital send information about positive HIV test results in medical records to the commune when an individual has a traffic accident and is found to be infected with HIV? (Image from the Internet)
Vietnam: Do HIV-infected people have to send information about their positive HIV test results in the medical record to the commune?
Pursuant to Point b, Clause 2, Article 4, Law on HIV/AIDS prevention and control 2006, amended by Clause 2, Article 1 of the Law on amendments to the Law on prevention and control of HIV/AIDS 2020, the rights and obligations of HIV-infected people include:
Rights and obligations of HIV-infected people
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2. HIV-infected people have the following obligations:
a/ To apply measures to prevent the transmission of HIV to other people;
b) Promptly notify his/her positive HIV test results to his/her spouse, fiancé(e) or cohabitant;
c) Comply with treatment regulations when receiving treatment with antiretroviral medicines;
d/ Other obligations as provided by this Law and other related laws.
Therefore, HIV-infected people are not required to send information about their positive HIV test results in the medical record to the commune. Instead, they have the responsibility to promptly notify their spouse, intended spouse, and cohabiting partner about their positive HIV test result.
What are requirements for provision of information, education and communication on HIV/AIDS prevention and control in Vietnam?
Pursuant to the provisions in Clause 2, Article 9 of the Law on HIV/AIDS prevention and control 2006:
The provision of information, education and communication on HIV/AIDS prevention and control in Vietnam shall meet the following requirements:
- Being accurate, clear, simple and practical;
- Being relevant to the targeted audiences, their education level, age, gender and traditions, culture, ethnic identity, religion, social morals, beliefs and customs;
- Being non-discriminatory, not affecting gender equality and not using negative information on or images of HIV-infected people.
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