Background: There is a lack of literature about health information systems (HIS) in "developing" countries, including Vietnam. However, computerization and network development are proceeding in these places, although not in a systematic, transparent way.
Objective: This is a preliminary overview of HIS's and healthcare communications in Vietnam's four-tiered public healthcare system. It is to indicate the direction that nation might take in order to establish a modern, standards-compliant, national HIS.
Methods: We conducted site visits and interviews in Hanoi and nearby provinces. Additional information was derived from publications of the Vietnamese government and the United Nations.
Results: Many of the top-level "central" hospitals have HIS's, although their quality and daily usage varies. Fewer provincial hospitals have networks; district hospitals have a few stand-alone computers, and commune health centers have no computers. Patients often go directly to higher-level providers, due to a widely held perception of better care at such sites. Communications among healthcare units are largely on paper, consisting mostly of administrative matters and some hand-written patient referrals. Telephones are used for discussions of specific matters. Internet connections are almost all dial-up and often belong to individual staff members rather than the healthcare units. Lower-level units derive much of their general medical information from television and newspapers. However, there is considerable interest in computerization among healthcare workers at all levels.
Conclusion: Familiarization with computerized communications, i.e., training and hardware at all healthcare levels, must be the first step towards a modern healthcare communications network in Vietnam. The skills to do this already exist. The aim of such a network must be to raise the level of information and quality of care at the lower levels. Adherence to international standards, such as HL7, from the beginning would enable the country to bypass many years of haphazard development.