Patients have chemotheraphy at Cho Ray Hospital. (Photo: thanhnien.vn) Hanoi (VNS/VNA) – New Ministry of Health (MoH) regulations on cancer treatment for outpatients from other provinces is causing problems to hospitals and thousands of sufferers. In March last year, MoH issued a circular on daytime chemotherapy, radiotherapy and chemoradiotherapy at medical facilities. It said that doctors bear responsibility to administer treatment based on patients’ health and pathology. The regulation is applied only for patients who live in provinces or cities where hospitals they receive treatment are located. Regarding patients from other localities, they have to sign commitment letters for voluntary treatment while no guidance has been released. After having her brain tumor removed a 38-year-old woman who has asked not be named, from Dong Nai province, now gets chemotherapy at 26 million VND (11,500 USD) from Cho Ray Hospital in HCM City. “There is no way I will sign a commitment letter. What if it is considered as a request for medical services then Vietnam Social Security will no longer pay for my treatment expenses,” she said. Another patient chooses to receive outpatient treatment as she still has to work. As a single mother, she saves 1.5 million VND (64.5 USD) from her monthly income of 4 million VND (172 USD) for her kid. “Since I had a brain tumor removal surgery at Cho Ray Hospital, I’d better have chemotherapy here than other medical centres in Dong Nai province,” she said. Sharing the same opinion, another 46-year-old patient, suffering from… [Read full story]
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