Key Policies Effective Early March 2019

1. Official Implementation of Electronic Medical Records According to the Timeline

The Ministry of Health issued Circular 46/2018/TT-BYT regulating the timeline for the application of electronic medical records as follows:

Phase from 2019 - 2023

- Medical facilities of grade I and above proactively upgrade their information technology systems to deploy electronic medical records according to regulations;- Other medical facilities, based on their actual needs and capabilities, prepare the necessary conditions for the deployment of electronic medical records.

Phase from 2024 - 2028:

- All medical facilities nationwide must deploy electronic medical records;- Medical facilities under the Ministry of Health or other ministries, which have not yet deployed electronic medical records, must submit a written report to the Ministry of Health;- Medical facilities under the management authority of the provincial/municipal Departments of Health, which have not yet deployed electronic medical records, must submit a written report to the Department of Health.

The report from medical examination and treatment facilities must clearly state the reasons and the timeline for implementing electronic medical records, but completion is mandatory before December 31, 2030.

Circular 46/2018/TT-BYT is effective from March 1, 2019.

1. New Application of 86 Business Registration Forms

On January 8, 2019, the Ministry of Planning and Investment issued Circular 02/2019/TT-BKHDT amending Circular 20/2015/TT-BKHDT guiding enterprise registration.

From March 11, 2019, 86 new forms will be applied when registering enterprises and household businesses, including:

- 10 application forms for enterprise registration and accompanying lists;- 25 notification forms and other documents issued by enterprises;- 06 document forms particularly for household businesses;- 07 certificates of enterprise registration, certificates of branch, representative office, and business location registration;- 29 notification forms and other documents from provincial Business Registration Offices;- 09 document forms particularly for district-level Business Registration Agencies.

Details of the document forms are provided in the annex attached to Circular 02/2019/TT-BKHDT.

1. Sexual Assault on Patients in Hospitals Constitutes a Criminal Offense

According to the guidance in Circular 43/2018/TT-BYT, the following medical incidents are considered criminal offenses:

- Impersonating healthcare personnel to treat patients;- Kidnapping (or enticing) patients of any age;- Sexually assaulting patients within hospital premises;- Causing death or serious injury to patients or healthcare workers within medical facilities;- Other severe medical incidents (NC3 types G, H, I) not mentioned in items 1 to 27 (in Annex II attached to this Circular).

More details can be found in Circular 43/2018/TT-BYT, effective from March 1, 2019.

1. Certain Requirements When Issuing State Reporting Policies

Decree 09/2019/ND-CP, issued by the Government of Vietnam on January 24, 2019, outlines the requirements when issuing state reporting policies as follows:

First, the report title must be clear, concise, and reflect the comprehensive content and scope of the reporting requirement;

Second, the content of the reporting requirement:

- Must provide necessary information to serve the management, direction, and administration objectives of state administrative agencies and authorities; the content of the reporting requirement must be clear and easily understandable, facilitating the reporting subjects;- Depending on the specific case, the content of the reporting requirement may include only narrative, only data, or both narrative and data.

Third, the subjects of report implementation and the reporting receiving agency:

- The reporting policy must clearly identify the subjects of report implementation (including state administrative agencies, organizations, individuals) and specifically identify the names of the receiving agencies;- The regulation of the reporting subjects must ensure it aligns with their functions and duties.

Fourth, the method of sending and receiving reports: Reports can be in the form of paper documents or electronic documents. Reports are sent to the receiving agency via direct submission, postal mail, fax, etc.

Details are provided in Decree 09/2019/ND-CP, effective from March 12, 2019.

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