HCM City (VNS/VNA) - The healthcare sector is adapting to new medicaltrends to meet higher public expectations for healthcare quality, the head ofthe Ministry of Health's Preventive Medicine Department Tran Dac Phu said.

The health official said the sector had seen remarkable progress in raisingpeople’s health awareness, but most Vietnamese still "preferself-diagnosis and self-treatment using Google."

"They would rather buy medicine without prescriptions at drugstores andnot comply with doctors’ prescriptions," Phu said at a medical forum onrespiratory diseases held recently in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

At the forum, experts discussed the importance of combining prevention andtreatment in the comprehensive management of respiratory diseases in adults andchildren.

This is especially important amid the complexity of antibiotic resistance, therecurrence of epidemics in children, and the increasing rate of chronicdiseases like asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), theysaid.

Also discussed were treatment of community-acquired respiratory tractinfections based on microbiology and clinical pharmacology, and proper use ofantibiotics to prevent antimicrobial resistance.

The evidence-based treatment method for ear, nose and throat infections tominimise antibiotic resistance was also cited as important.

Management and control of chronic diseases like asthma and COPD and animmunisation programme to prevent respiratory infections are also essential in thetreatment and prevention of respiratory disease.

At the event, experts noted that pollution, unhealthy diets and lifestyles, anda lack of physical exercise among Vietnamese were contributing to a higherincidence of disease, especially respiratory ailments.

Vietnamese tend to visit doctors when their condition already deteriorates,making treatment more difficult, they said.

In addition, patients fail to comply with their doctors’ instructions,regularly skipping doses whey they begin to feel better. This increasesantibiotic resistance, or results in serious complications afterwards.

The burden of disease is substantial for children from birth to two years old.At this age, most children are hospitalised for acute respiratory diseases.

Their immature immune systems are vulnerable to bacterial attacks, whichresults in serious complications and even mortality.

To cope with these challenges, experts suggest three solutions, including aconsensus among health workers across medical fields on proper prescriptionsand use of antibiotics.

Patients should be educated about the importance of adherence to antibiotictreatment for community-acquired respiratory tract diseases and compliance withpreventive treatment for chronic diseases like asthma and COPD to avoidsubsequent hospitalisation.

Early immunisation for vaccine-preventable diseases to protect children fromcommon and dangerous respiratory diseases like whooping cough, pneumococcalpneumonia and other infectious diseases should be encouraged.

The forum was conducted through a live webcast available in more than 20 citiesand provinces nationwide.

It was coorganised by the Vietnam Respiratory Society, Vietnam PediatricsAssociation, Vietnam Association of Preventive Medicine, HCM City PasteurInstitute, HCM City Respiratory Association, HCM City ENT Association, and therepresentative office of GSK in Vietnam.

GSK is one of the world’s leading science-based healthcare and pharmaceuticalcompanies.-VNS/VNA