Innovative cardiac arrest treatment improves health system

The workshop drew on international experience in managing and improving appropriate hospitalization as well as sharing science research while discussing multi-dimensional solutions based on coordination among stakeholders like the Ministry of Health, HSPI, Vietnam Social Insurance, Vietnam National Heart Association, and Novartis.

"While hospitals must focus on treating and managing a sudden surge in the number of Covid-19 patients, it is important to improve the endurance of the health system and, at the same time, maintain health care services for all other diseases," an organizer said.

Stakeholders discuss the impacts of inappropriate hospitalization during the Covid pandemic. Photo by Novartis

The workshop also emphasized the effects of heart failure among patients during the pandemic since the disease falls among one of 20 groups of comorbidities, in order to reduce the risk of death when patients are co-infected with Covid-19.

According to Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Ngoc Quang, deputy director of the National Heart Institute, heart failure is a global health problem with a high incidence. As many as 1-2 percent of the population in developed countries suffer heart failure, while one in every five people over 40 years old will develop the disease. Although Vietnam has no official statistics on the number of heart failure patients, it is estimated that 320,000 to 1.6 million people living with the disease need treatment.

Contributing to comprehensive management in reducing the rate of hospitalization, the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)/American Health Association (AHA) is implementing a new heart failure management model at more than 40 hospitals in Vietnam, gradually demonstrating its effectiveness.

Assoc. Prof. Nguyen Ngoc Quang, deputy director of the National Heart Institute, talks about the effective of ARNI on heart failure. Photo by Norvatis

ARNI is recommended for patients with chronic heart failure in many international and Vietnamese guidelines on the diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Creating favorable conditions for heart failure patients to access and use effective medications like ARNI will help prevent hospitalization, discharge, re-hospitalization and the risk of mortality.

Roeland Roelofs, Global Cardio Metabolic head, Novartis Switzerland also shared his international experience on solutions to reduce avoidable hospitalization for heart failure patients with multi-dimensional management mechanisms from developed countries, including advanced innovations, clinical expertise, health financing/payment solutions, patient management, and outpatient monitoring.

Rachel O'Neale, head of Country Pharmaceutical Organization, Novartis Vietnam, said: "I believe the avoidance of unreasonable hospitalization and improvement of treatment quality plays a critical role. It would help not only enhance efficiency of the healthcare system but also control the pandemic in the long run, and save as many lives as possible, especially patients with co-morbidities and chronic diseases like heart failure."

As a leading global pharmaceutical company, Novartis uses innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need, aiming to improve and extend lives. The company ranks among the world’s top firms investing in research and development.

In early 2020, Novartis Vietnam Ltd. transformed from a multinational pharmaceutical company to a foreign-invested enterprise, fully operationalizing its import activities. Through long-term commitments Novartis is supporting the domestic healthcare system and contributing to the socio-economic development of the country.

Website: https://www.novartis.com.