The event was attended by members of the Hospital’s Board of Directors, department heads, chief nurses from across the Hospital, representatives of Joint Commission International (JCI) and Becton Dickinson (BD), as well as numerous experts and nurses—the core workforce directly responsible for implementing the program.

Not Merely a Technique, but a Risk System Requiring Comprehensive Management
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dao Xuan Co emphasized that intravenous therapy should not be viewed simply as a technical procedure, but as a complex risk system involving infection risks, medication errors, and both mechanical and pharmacological complications.

Hospital leaders noted that many adverse events in clinical practice are caused not by insufficient knowledge, but by deviations from procedures, failure to comply with standards, and the lack of continuous monitoring mechanisms. This continues to be a widespread challenge in safeguarding patient safety across healthcare facilities.

As a major tertiary referral center receiving a high volume of severe and complex cases from lower-level hospitals, Bach Mai Hospital faces an increasingly urgent need to strengthen standardization and risk control throughout clinical practice.

PRIME: From experience-based practice to standardized care

The PRIME program is built on Joint Commission International (JCI) standards and focuses on two major categories of risk in inpatient care: medication errors and hospital-acquired infections.

International studies have shown that medication errors may occur at rates ranging from 15% to 88% during treatment, while hospital-acquired infections affect approximately 9% of patients and may increase mortality risk by as much as 46%.

At Bach Mai Hospital, PRIME is viewed not only as a clinical initiative, but also as a hospital-wide quality improvement program founded on three core pillars:

Standardizing procedures in line with international standards
Establishing a continuous patient safety monitoring system
Fostering a culture of patient safety
As emphasized by the Hospital Director, “Safety cannot rely on individuals; it must be designed as a system.”

Structured Implementation with a Roadmap for Hospital-Wide Expansion
According to the implementation plan, the PRIME program will be carried out over a six-month period, beginning with a preparation phase in March 2026. The program will then move into the training of core teams in 10 key clinical units, followed by practical implementation, continuous evaluation, and a year-end review with certification aligned with Joint Commission International (JCI) standards.

The pilot units include the Intensive Care Center, Emergency Center A9, Stroke Center, Pediatrics Center, Department of Dermatology and Burns, Department of Urology Surgery, Hematology and Blood Transfusion Center, Respiratory Center, Gastrointestinal Surgery Center, and the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Center.

One of the program’s notable strengths is its broad, system-wide engagement, involving Hospital leadership, quality management teams, and frontline nurses who directly carry out clinical procedures in daily practice.

Mr. Liang Lu, Vice President of Becton Dickinson (BD) for Southeast Asia, highly commended Bach Mai Hospital’s important role within Vietnam’s healthcare system and affirmed the Hospital’s position as a strategic partner in implementing quality improvement initiatives.

According to BD representatives, PRIME is a program jointly developed by JCI and BD to translate global best practices into measurable improvements at the level of individual healthcare institutions.

Standardization Begins with the Smallest Steps
A key message emphasized throughout the event was that standardization does not begin with sweeping changes, but with everyday clinical practice. Hospital leadership noted that simply standardizing intravenous line insertion procedures in accordance with international guidelines can create the foundation for broader, system-wide standardization.

Bach Mai Hospital aims to develop PRIME into a model program that can be replicated, thereby bringing the Hospital closer to internationally recognized standards of care.

The signing ceremony between Bach Mai Hospital and BD represented not only a partnership agreement, but also a strong commitment to placing patients at the center of care, taking standardization as the foundation, and leveraging international collaboration as a driver of sustainable development.

In the context of deepening global integration, PRIME is expected to help reduce infection risks and medication errors, improve the quality of treatment, and further strengthen Bach Mai Hospital’s position on the regional and global healthcare map.

From a familiar clinical procedure such as intravenous therapy, an internationally aligned quality improvement program is now being implemented—with the ultimate goal of ensuring comprehensive patient safety.