VO The government approves the healthcare law amendment, which aims to improve healthcare services
INTRO: The government has approved the healthcare law amendment, which aims to improve healthcare services for the multi-ethnic Lao people and enable Laos to better integrate with the region and the world. Official said, the draft amended law would be submitted to the National Assembly (NA) session for debate at the end of this year.
STORY: The draft-amended law was approved by the government at its monthly meeting in Vientiane on August 25-27, which was chaired by Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong and attended by other cabinet members.
The cabinet members gave their input on how to make the law more comprehensive and asked the relevant sector to ensure that doctors would enhance their responsibilities and strictly follow their ethics.
The cabinet members also asked the relevant sector to review the policy given towards doctors and provide more investment in medical equipment at various hospitals in Laos.
Healthcare is a service made available to patients by the conscious responsibility of healthcare professionals through consultation, screening, diagnosis, prescription of drugs, application of medical procedures, as well as convalescence and rehabilitation to cure patients and ensure that they enjoy a satisfactory state of health, including health promotion and preventive measures.
The healthcare law determines the principles and different measures related to the organisation, activities, management and control of healthcare activities to ensure that all citizens, families and communities have access to equal, full, equitable and quality healthcare services.
The amendment also aims to increasingly develop modern healthcare services to enable all citizens to have good health and to be able to effectively contribute to the protection and development of the nat ion.
As the Asean Economic Community is set to be established in 2015, the amended law will conform to those in other Asean countries.
The law will facilitate professional development in order to get quality doctors for health services.
The government pays attention to the improvement of the quality of health care to ensure that the whole population, in particular women and children, poor citizens and those who live in remote or isolated areas, have a good state of health.
The government is launching a health reform, which will includes the establishment of the Health Insurance Fund.
It is noted that, the existing law was enacted in 2005 and since then things have changed. In response to the nation's reality and its health reform scheme, it's necessary to amend the law to facilitate the development of the delivery of healthcare services.
If the NA approves the amendment to the law, the names of district hospitals will be changed to ‘community hospital', while dispensaries will also be upgraded.
