DECISION

APPROVING THE DETAILED MASTER PLAN ON DEVELOPMENT AND UTILIZATION OF MEDICAL RADIOLOGY THROUGH 2020

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the June 3, 2008 Law on Atomic Energy;

Pursuant to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 957/QD-TTg of June 24, 2010, approving the master plan on development and utilization of atomic energy for peaceful purposes through 2020;

At the proposal of the Minister of Health,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve the detailed master plan on development and utilization of medical radiology through 2020 (below referred to as the master plan) with the following principal contents:

I. OBJECTIVES OF THE MASTER PLAN

1. General objectives

To intensify the utilization of radiation and radioisotopes in the health sector. To concentrate on developing modern techniques taking advantage of the superiority of radiation and radioisotopes to serve and raise the quality of medical examination and treatment, training and scientific research.

2. Specific objectives by 2020

To establish and complete a network of medical establishments utilizing radiation in medical examination and treatment, training and scientific research, with the following specific objectives:

a/ 80% of provinces and centrally run cities will have nuclear medicine establishments and oncology establishments furnished with radiotherapy equipment. There will be at least one radiotherapy equipment and one radioscopic equipment per million of people nationwide.

b/ 80% of provinces and centrally run cities will each have at least one digital myocardial perfusion imaging camera; 80% of regional general hospitals will each have one computed tomography (CT) scan; and 100% of district-level hospitals will have high-frequency X-ray machines.

c/ To develop single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT, SPECT/CT) techniques and interventional X-ray techniques in provincial-level hospitals and major medical centers.

d/ To develop positron emission tomography (PET/CT) techniques in a number of regional and municipal centers.

c/ To concentrate on manufacturing medical equipment to meet 20% of the demand for hi-tech medical equipment utilizing radiation and 30% of supporting equipment for nuclear medicine, radiotherapy and electro-optics centers and departments.

f/ To concentrate on producing radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals to meet 70% of the demand.

g/ To research and develop other hi-tech medical equipment: accelerators, SPECT machines, simulators, magnetic resonance machines and laser equipment.

h/ To build capacity of national radiation and nuclear measurement standard laboratories. To assure the quality of applied radiation equipment and the capability of maintenance, repair and manufacture of applied radiation equipment and radiometer devices for medical use.

II. CONTENTS OF THE MASTER PLAN

1. Development of nuclear medicine

To establish and complete the following units:

a/ The Central Nuclear Medicine Center at Bach Mai hospital.

b/ Nuclear medicine centers at a number of hospitals of ministries, provinces, cities and sectors.

c/ Nuclear medicine departments of a number of hospitals of ministries, provinces, cities and sectors.

The list of nuclear medicine establishments is provided in the Appendix to this Decision.

Nuclear medicine establishments will be developed at other hospitals to meet medical examination and treatment needs of local people and shall be approved in writing by the Ministry of Health.

2. Development of radiotherapy

To establish and complete the following units:

a/ The Central Radiotherapy Center at hospital K and the Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy Center at Army Central Hospital 108.

b/ Radiotherapy centers at a number of hospitals of ministries, provinces, cities and sectors.

c/ Radiotherapy units at the oncology departments of hospitals of provinces, centrally run cities and sectors.

The list of radiotherapy establishments is provided in the Appendix to this Decision.

Radiotherapy establishments will be developed at other hospitals to meet medical examination and treatment needs of local people and shall be approved in writing by the Ministry of Health.

3. Development of electro-optics

To establish and complete the following units:

a/ The Central Electro-optical Center at Bach Mai hospital.

b/ Electro-optical centers at a number of hospitals of ministries, provinces, cities and sectors.

c/ Electro-optical departments of hospitals nationwide.

The list of electro-optical establishments is provided in the Appendix to this Decision.

4. Establishment of the Central Radiological Medicine Institute of the Ministry of Health The Central Radiological Medicine Institute will be a leading institute of the health sector and function to conduct researches into nuclear medicine, radiotherapy and electro-optics; effects of radiation on human health; provide intensive care and treatment of radioactively contaminated persons, and professional and technical assistance for nuclear medicine, radiotherapy and electro-optical establishments.

In the period of 2012-2020, to enhance the research and development capacity and organize research activities in the field of diagnosis and treatment of radioactivity contamination-induced diseases; to step by step prepare physical foundations, human resources and elaborate schemes on establishment and investment projects on construction of the Central Radiological Medicine Institute of the Ministry of Health.

5. Development of the capability of inspecting and assuring the quality of, raise the capacity of manufacturing radiation equipment, and assure radiation safety

a/ To build capacity for national radiation and nuclear measurement standard laboratories in the health sector.

b/ To intensify investment in developing units to research and manufacture applied radiation equipment and supporting equipment for nuclear medicine, radiotherapy and electro-optical centers and departments.

c/ To establish and complete centers for maintenance and repair of applied radiation equipment and supporting equipment for nuclear medicine, radiotherapy and electro-optical establishments in North, Central and South Vietnam.

d/ To establish and complete regional units to test, inspect and control the quality of applied radiation equipment and tools in North, Central and South Vietnam. To intensify investment in and build capacity for the Institute for Medical Equipment and Works of the Ministry of Health and the units to test, inspect and control the quality of applied radiation equipment under the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of National Defense (the Army Pharmaceutical Testing and Research Center and the Army Radiological Medicine and Oncology Institute).

c/ To perfect legal documents on radiation safety in the health sector.

6. Building of a system for response to nuclear incidents, and intensive care and treatment of radioactively contaminated persons

a/ To step by step invest in building the Central Radiological Medicine Institute and raise its capability to respond to radiation and nuclear incidents and provide intensive care for incident victims.

b/ To establish a medical center for response to radiation and nuclear incidents at the Army Radiological Medicine and Oncology Institute.

c/ To intensify investment in equipment and supplies for intensive care, diagnosis and treatment, raise the capacity of units providing intensive care and treatment for radioactively contaminated persons of the general hospital of Ninh Thuan province, Bach Mai province, the central general hospital of Hue city and Cho Ray hospital.

d/ To organize training and drills for building the capacity to deal with and respond to radiation and nuclear incidents for medical establishments and related agencies.

7. Assurance of the supply of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals

a/ To attach importance to the utilization of products of the nuclear reactor in Da Lat and new research nuclear reactors in the future.

b/ To build regional cyclotron centers to produce radioisotopes and radiopharma­ceuticals to meet medical use needs.

c/ To raise technical capacity of and perfect legal documents on licensing of production and circulation of radioisotopes and radiopharma­ceuticals in the health sector in Vietnam.

8. Stepping up of the utilization of radiation and radioisotopes in research

To step up the utilization of radiation and radioisotopes in researches into nutrition, endocrinology, metabolism, prevention and control of some diseases, and sterilization of medical instruments and objects.

III. IMPLEMENTATION ROADMAP

1. From now to 2015

a/ To intensify investment in projects to build nuclear medicine, radiotherapy and electro-optics centers, prioritizing key projects on the Central Nuclear Medicine Center at Bach Mai hospital, the Central Radiotherapy Center at hospital K, the Central Electro-optical Center at Bach Mai hospital, the Nuclear Medicine and Radiotherapy Center at Army Central Hospital 108, the Health Center for Response to Radiation and Nuclear Incidents at the Army Radioactive Medicine and Oncology Institute.

b/ To train human resources for nuclear medicine, radiotherapy and electro-optics to meet the demand, paying special attention to human resources in medical physics. To develop training curricula and courses and grant medical physics certificates.

c/ To invest in developing technical capacity for the national system of standard laboratories for radiation and nuclear measurement to meet requirements of the utilization of medical radiology. To invest in centers to maintain, repair and manufacture applied radiation equipment and radiometer devices for medical use.

d/ To invest in and build capacity for the Institute of Medical Equipment and Works of the Ministry of Health, medical equipment quality testing, inspection and control units in North, Central and South Vietnam and a number of quality and standard conformity testing and inspection establishments of the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Public Security.

e/ To attach importance to the utilization of radioisotope products of the Da Lat nuclear reactor and new research nuclear reactors in the future. To build regional cyclotron centers to serve medical examination and treatment and the production of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals to meet medical use needs. To build the technical capacity of and perfect legal documents on licensing the production and circulation of radioisotopes and radiopharma­ceuticals in the health sector in Vietnam.

f/ To intensify the utilization of radiation and radioisotopes in researches into nutrition, endocrinology, metabolism, prevention and control of some diseases, and sterilization of medical instruments and objects.

g/ To build and improve the system of legal documents, standards and technical regulations on radiation safety and control of irradiation doses in the health sector.

2. For the 2016-2020 period

a/ To elaborate a scheme to establish the Central Radiological Medicine Institute of the Ministry of Health. To further invest in and develop nuclear medicine, radiotherapy and electro-optics centers, nuclear medicine departments and radiotherapy units at oncology and electro-optics departments of hospitals.

b/ To further intensify the training of human resources for nuclear medicine, radiotherapy and electro-optics centers, paying special attention to human resources for medical physics.

c/ To further build the technical capacity for the national system of standard laboratories for radiation and nuclear measurement and centers to maintain, repair and manufacture applied radiation equipment and radiometer devices for medical use.

d/ To further enhance and improve the system of establishments for testing and inspection of quality and standard conformity of applied radiation equipment for medical use.

e/ To continue investing in developing cyclotron centers, expanding the utilization of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals of research reactors. To perfect legal documents on licensing the production and circulation of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals in the health sector in Vietnam.

f/ To further step up the utilization of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals in researches into nutrition, endocrinology, metabolism, prevention and control of some diseases, and sterilization of medical instruments and objects.

g/ To intensify investment in equipment and supplies for intensive care, diagnosis and treatment and build capacity for units providing intensive care and treatment for radioactivity-affected victims of the general hospital of Ninh Thuan province, Bach Mai hospital, the central general hospital of Hue city and Cho Ray hospital. To build the Central Radiological Medicine Institute and raise its capacity to respond to and provide medical intensive care in radiation and nuclear incidents.

h/ To organize training and drills to raise the capacity to deal with and respond to radiation and nuclear incidents for medical establishments and related agencies.

i/ To further improve legal documents, standards and technical regulations on radiation safety and control of irradiation doses in the health sector.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION SOLUTIONS

1. Regarding policies and administration a/ Step by step perfecting the legal system and elaborating standards and technical standards. Stepping up the dissemination of and education about the law on utilization of medical radiology.

b/ Intensifying the inspection, examination and strict handling of violations of the law on utilization of medical radiology.

2. Regarding human resource development

a/ Creating a breakthrough in high-level human resources to have sufficient quality specialists and doctors with a good command of advanced and modern equipment and techniques of the nuclear medicine, electro-optics and radiotherapy for medical examination and treatment, training and scientific research in the health sector.

b/ Intensifying the training of human resources for medical radiology and physics by promoting training grades and diversifying training forms, with a view to supplying sufficient personnel possessing certificates of medical physics for medical radiology establishments, especially radiotherapy units.

c/ Intensifying the training of human resources for quality inspection and control, maintenance and repair of applied radiation equipment.

3. Regarding science and technology

a/ Intensifying research and transfer of new techniques in the utilization of radiology in medical examination and treatment.

b/ Intensifying research and manufacture of a number of hi-tech medical equipment utilizing radiation and radioisotopes and supporting equipment for nuclear medicine, radiotherapy and electro-optics centers.

4. Regarding assurance of radiation safety, environmental protection and sustainable development

a/ Assuring safety and controlling irradiation doses for patients and health workers on duty.

b/ Managing the safety of radioactive waste of nuclear medicine establishments and unused radioactive sources of medical establishments. Gradually eliminating obsolete radiation equipment and encouraging the utilization of hi-tech radiation equipment.

c/ Organizing training and drills to raise the capacity to deal with and respond to radiation and nuclear incidents for medical establishments and related agencies.

5. Regarding investment and finance

a/ Creating a breakthrough in investment, especially investment from the state budget, official development assistance and other lawful sources, in medical establishments utilizing radiology in medical examination and treatment, training and scientific research; quality inspection and control establishments; maintenance and repair establishments; and radiation equipment research and manufacture establishments.

b/ Providing preferential credit loans from the state budget and other lawful sources to public medical establishments for building physical foundations and procuring applied radiation equipment for medical examination and treatment.

c/ Formulating preferential capital, tax and land policies for establishments researching and manufacturing applied radiation medical equipment or producing radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals.

6. Regarding international cooperation

a/ Promoting international cooperation and experience exchange, participating in specialized symposiums and forums on peaceful use of nuclear energy and specialties of nuclear medicine, radiotherapy and electro-optics, and manufacturing applied radiation equipment.

b/ Cooperating with international organizations in investing in medical equipment for nuclear medicine, radiotherapy and electro-optics. Encouraging wholly foreign-owned enterprises to invest in manufacturing applied hi-tech radiation equipment.

V. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Ministry of Health shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with ministries, related agencies and provincial-level People's Committees in, elaborating programs and plans on implementation and inspection of implementation of this master plan; annually summarize and report implementation results to the Prime Minister. It shall grant permits for use of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals in the health sector.

2. The Ministry of National Defense shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Health and related agencies in, elaborating plans on and organizing the implementation of the master plan by the units under its management.

3. The Ministry of Science and Technology shall build national standard laboratories for radiation and nuclear measurement to meet the need for utilization of medical radiology; provide guidance on inspection and calibration of medical radiation equipment and dosimeters; perform the state management of radiation safety and radioactive waste.

4. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall arrange and allocate investment resources for the health sector for the implementation of the master plan as scheduled; supervise the implementation of the master plan nationwide.

5. The Ministry of Finance shall ensure state budget allocations for the health sector under five-year and annual plans; coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Health in allocating budgets for the implementation of this master plan.

6. Related ministries and sectors shall coordinate with the Ministry of Health in allocating their resources for the implementation of this master plan.

7. Chairpersons of provincial-level People's Committees shall direct and organize the implementation of this master plan within their localities.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing.

Article 3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People's Committees shall implement this Decision.-

APPENDIX

MASTER PLAN ON A NETWORK OF ESTABLISHMENTS UTILIZING MEDICAL RADIOLOGY THROUGH 2020
(To the Prime Minister's Decision No. 1958/QD-TTg of November 4, 2011)