Vietnam: Determination of the number of days for inpatient treatment to be used as a basis for paying hospital stay price

According to Circular No. 15/2018/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam:

- The number of days for inpatient treatment = the discharge date - the hospitalization date; this applies to cases in which the patient is permitted to be discharged from the hospital if partially or completely recovering from illness.

- The number of day for inpatient treatment = the discharge date minus - the hospitalization date + 1; this applies to the following cases:

+ The seriously-ill patient is undergoing inpatient treatment in a hospital but there is no sign of illness recovery or such illness becomes worse who requires hospital discharge or referral to upper level hospital.

+ The patient that undergoes medical emergency treatment in an upper level hospital but still requires inpatient treatment is transferred to a lower level hospital or to another medical facility.

NOTE:

- For the case in which the patient is admitted to the hospital and is discharged from such hospital on the same day, such day shall be counted as a treatment day if the treatment lasts for more than 4 hours. Except the case in which the patient is transferred directly to the emergency department not through examination department and undergoes less than 4-hour-treatment (including cases of hospital discharge, hospitalization, referral or dead) and get the prices for medical examination, medicine purchase, medical supplies and medical procedures paid by the insurance agency excluding the hospital stay price for intensive care.

- If the patient is transferred to 2 different departments in the same day, each department shall be counted as a half day of treatment. If the patient is transferred to 3 or more departments in a day, the price for hospital stay in such day shall be equal to the arithmetic mean of the highest price for hospital stay in the department with more than 4-hour-treatment and the lowest price for hospital stay in the department with more than 4-hour-treatment.

- The price for hospital stay in surgery and burn department shall be applied within 10 days after the surgeon. Such price from the 11th day onwards will be equal to the price for hospital stay in the equivalent department.

- The price for hospital stay shall apply to one patient confined to a single bed. In case two patients have to share one bed, a half of the price for hospital stay is paid. If there are 3 or more patients sharing the same bed, one third of the hospital stay price is paid.

View more details at Circular No. 15/2018/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, effective from July 15, 2018.

-Thao Uyen-

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