Military-run telecom group Viettel announced on Wednesday that medical establishments nationwide have carried out 120 consultation sessions for more than 1,800 severe COVID-19 cases, promptly handling and treating the patients.

The Telehealth platform has been deployed since April, 2020. After more than a year, more than 200 hospitals in the country have regularly used the platform for remote consultations. Nearly 600 consultation sessions and more than 200 professional training sessions have been held through this platform. In particular, 35 remote surgical consultations were performed. To date, more than 1,600 medical records have been uploaded to the Telehealth platform.

At the August 8 ceremony to launch the Telehealth platform and debut the National Technology Centre for COVID-19 Prevention and Control, Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long said that his ministry will apply online medical examination and treatment registration for all people, promote the application of technological achievements such as big data and artificial intelligence in healthcare management.

Local medical workers are now able to seek advice from leading experts about how to best treat patients in critical conditions, particularly those with COVID-19, via Telehealth, instead of transferring them to higher-level hospitals.

This will help ease overloading at centrally-run hospitals and minimise direct contact between patients and medical workers. In the long run, it will enable all people to register for online medical consultations. — VNS