On January 6, 2026, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health officially issued Decision No. 31/QD-BYT regarding the announcement of data and instructions for the exploitation of Electronic Health Records (EHR) integrated into the VNeID application. This legal document aims to implement the roadmap for reducing and simplifying administrative procedures based on data, while standardizing the management of citizens' health information on a digital platform.
1. Legal Validity of VNeID Electronic Health Records
According to Article 1 of the Decision, health data on VNeID that has been synchronized and integrated holds full eligibility for exploitation and usage with legal validity equivalent to paper versions. Administrative agencies and medical facilities are prohibited from requesting physical documents if the corresponding information is fully available on the VNeID application. The exploitation of this data must adhere to the principles of security, information safety, and personal privacy as prescribed by the 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment and the 2025 Law on Personal Data Protection.
2. Scope of Shared Information Fields
The health information integrated into the VNeID EHR consists of four main groups, directly supporting diagnosis and treatment:
- Administrative Information: Full name, date of birth, personal identification/ID number, health insurance card number, residential address, and legal representative details.
- Medical History: Detailed records of allergy history (types, allergens, manifestations), disease history (time, location, diagnosis), and vaccination history (vaccine types, antigens, number of doses).
- Medical Visit Information: Includes admission/discharge times, visit types, treatment results, clinical indicators (blood group, height, weight), paraclinical results (tests, imaging), and surgeries or procedures performed.
- Medication and Treatment Data: Specifics of medications used, including drug names, concentrations, quantities, dosages, and administration methods; along with clinical progression summaries, prescriptions, and follow-up schedules.
3. Significance for Healthcare and Clinical Management
The official implementation of the VNeID Electronic Health Record brings practical values:
- Enhancing Treatment Safety: For the Pharmacy department and clinical teams, having accurate access to allergy history and medications previously prescribed at various facilities helps minimize the risk of adverse drug interactions, ensuring safety and efficacy in medication use.
- Medical Data Transparency: Digital data ensures that patient health information is stored consistently and continuously, preventing the loss of information common with traditional paper logbooks.
- Improving Patient Experience: It reduces waiting times and the burden of paperwork during admission, referral, or health insurance settlement processes.
4. Patient Rights and Healthcare Facility Responsibilities
Decision No. 31/QD-BYT clearly stipulates that patients or their legal representatives have the right to access and download detailed records of each medical visit in PDF format via the VNeID app. This ensures the right to be informed and to correct information in accordance with legal regulations.
Medical examination and treatment facilities are responsible for synchronizing EHR data for all patients starting from January 1, 2026. This serves as a mandatory basis for performing related administrative procedures and improving medical management efficiency.
5. Effective Date
Decision No. 31/QD-BYT is effective from the date of signing. Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, and Chairpersons of Provincial People's Committees are responsible for reviewing and restructuring administrative procedures within their management scope to accommodate the exploitation of electronic health data.