Vietnam: Which measures must be taken to ensure safety for patients and medical staff?

Hospital quality management contents include taking necessary measures to ensure safety for patients and medical staff, which is specified in Article 7 of Circular No. 19/2013/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam as follows:

- Develop programs and set out specific regulations on assurance of safety for patients and medical staff with the following main contents:

+ Accurate patient identification and avoidance of any error likely to be made during the process of rendering healthcare services;

+ Safe surgery or operation;

+ Safe medication use;

+ Prevention and control of hospital-acquired infections and bacterial contaminations;

+ Control and prevention of risks or defects arising from exchange or transmission of false information between and among medical staff;

+ Patient fall prevention;

+ Safe medical equipment use.

- Provide safe working environment for patients, visitors and medical staff; prevent any accident, risk or exposure.

- Establish the system for collecting and making reports on medical errors or adverse events occurring at clinical departments and within the entire hospital, including compulsory and voluntary reports.

- Develop procedures for assessing medical errors and adverse events to identify root, systematic and medical staff's personal causes; assessing possible risks.

- Deal with medical errors or adverse events and take necessary actions to mitigate root, systematic and personal causes to minimize medical errors, incidents or adverse events as well as prevent risks.

View more details at Circular No. 19/2013/TT-BYT of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, effective from September 15, 2013.

Thu Ba

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