HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh Cityhealth centres that provide treatment to patients with HIV/AIDS should merge bythe end of the year with district-level hospitals if the centres are unable toexpand services to upgrade into general health clinics, which offer variouskinds of treatment to all patients, a local official has said. 

Twenty-one of the city’s 24 health centres(formerly known as preventive health centres) offer treatment for HIV/AIDSpatients and preventive health services.

Many of these centres, however, have not signedcontracts with the Vietnam Social Security (VSS), and thus, patients withHIV/AIDS, even those with health insurance cards, cannot be insured.

Dr Tieu Thi Thu Van, head of the city’s Centre forHIV/AIDS Prevention, at a meeting between the department and its health centresheld last week, said that the centres which lack conditions to upgrade to ageneral health clinic should merge with district-level hospitals to ensurecontinuity of treatment for HIV/AIDS patients as well as health insurancecoverage.

“If patients with HIV/AIDS stop usinganti-retroviral (ARV) medicine for one week, they will become resistant to themedicine, leading to a problem of epidemic control in the city,” Van said.

The cost for treatment for patients who areresistant to the drug would not be covered by insurance, Van said, adding thatthe cost is five to 10 times higher than the usual treatment given beforedrug-resistance.

International aid to Vietnam that covers thecosts of ARV drugs is gradually being reduced and will completely end by 2020,Van said.

At the beginning of the year, state insurancefunds will start covering costs for ARV drugs.

If health centres are able to upgrade to generalclinics, they could then sign contracts for insured examinations and drugtreatment with the VSS. 

If the health centres merge with district-levelhospitals, they would transfer their patients with HIV/AIDS to the hospital toreceive ARV medicine and other treatment covered by health insurance, accordingto Van.  

“Of the surveyed 28,000 patients with HIV/AIDSin the city, 72 percent have health insurance cards,” Van said.

The city’s People’s Committee has approvedpurchase of health insurance cards for all patients with HIV/AIDS who have HCMCity household registration books or temporary resident status for six months,she added.

At least 90 percent of insured patients withHIV/AIDS do not use their health cards as most of the facilities where they gofor treatment have no contracts with the VSS.

By December, the Ministry of Health will provideARV drugs to the city’s Hospital for Tropical Diseases, Pham Ngoc ThachHospital, District 1 Hospital, Tan Phu District Hospital, Thu Duc DistrictHospital and health centres in the districts of Tan Phu, Thu Duc and Binh Chanhthat have the capacity to upgrade to general health clinics.

According to a report from the city’s Centre forHIV/AIDS Prevention, the city as of July had 31,000 patients with HIV/AIDSreceiving ARV treatment at 31 health facilities.-VNA