A staff member at the reception desk, Nguyen Thi Trang, said that by 9 pm on Thursday, nearly 300 people had arrived during the extended hours.
"We've received many early registrations online so that we were prepared," she said.
A patient, Pham Thuy Duong, 32, said that these extended hours would help office workers like her or people living far from the hospital.
"I used to ask for a day off when coming to the hospital for check-ups, but from now on, I can go after finishing work," Duong said. This is a very flexible and helpful policy for me."
Another patient, Nguyen Van Thoi, 60, said that he came from Nam Dinh Province, some 150 km from Hanoi and used to rent a room near the hospital if the check-ups lasted too long.
"Many times, I had to rent a room near the hospital and wait until the next day when the hospital closed at 5 pm and my check-ups hadn't been completed," Thoi said. "But now doctors are working until 9 pm, and I can complete all the check-ups within a day. That's convenient for people living far from the hospital like me."
According to the hospital director, Dao Xuan Co, they've decided to extend examination hours to ease the serious congestion during the daytime and enable the hospital to examine all patients during the day.
"The medical examination hours would be expanded from 5 pm to 9 pm from Monday to Friday, with a reception and some examination desks opening early from 5-6 am to serve patients, especially those from distant locations," Co said.
The hospital leader also shared that staff members have supported this new policy, and some 2,000 have registered to work the extra hours.
Bach Mai Hospital has also applied digital transformation by assisting patients in registering for medical examination and treatment via a hotline or app.
According to Co, 2,000 2,500 people sign up for medical examinations daily via these new channels.
"Medical prescriptions have not been printed since July 8," he said. From the start of August, testing and scanning results will not be printed, and everything will be online. This is expected to save about VND30 billion per year.
Bach Mai is the largest general hospital in the northern region. It sees between 6,000 and 8,000 people daily for health check-ups and serves some 4,000 in-patients.