Announcing 10 typical events of Vietnam's healthcare sector in 2023

1. The Secretariat and the National Assembly issued Directives and Resolutions to continue to consolidate, improve and enhance the quality of grassroots health care activities in the new situation.

After 20 years of implementing Directive No. 06-CT/TW dated January 22, 2002 of the Central Party Secretariat, 9th tenure, on consolidating and perfecting the grassroots health care network and Conclusion Notice No. 126-TB/TW dated April 1, 2013 of the Central Party Secretariat, 11th tenure, on 10 years of implementing Directive No. 06-CT/TW, grassroots health care activities have achieved important results in primary health care, participation in health insurance examination and treatment, disease prevention and control, expanded vaccination... The grassroots health care network covers the whole country, has been strengthened in terms of facilities, equipment, human resources...

On October 25, 2023, the Secretariat issued Directive No. 25-CT/TW on continuing to consolidate, improve and enhance the quality of grassroots health care activities in the new situation. With the view that grassroots health care is the foundation, the Directive aims to: firmly develop the grassroots health care system, build a widespread health care network close to the people; improve the quality and efficiency of grassroots health care activities; improve the effectiveness of state management and coordination responsibilities of agencies and organizations in developing and implementing policies, laws and regulations on grassroots health care.

On June 24, 2023, the National Assembly issued Resolution No. 99/2023/QH15 on "Thematic supervision of the mobilization, management and use of resources for COVID-19 prevention and control; implementation of policies and laws on grassroots health care and preventive medicine", along with Directive 25-CT/TW, opening up new development directions for grassroots health care and preventive medicine.

Accordingly, grassroots health care ensures the full implementation of primary health care functions, medical examination and treatment, disease prevention and control, and health promotion to ensure that all people receive health care in the community. Promote the implementation of the goal of universal health coverage.

2. The National Assembly passed the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment (amended)

On January 9, 2023, at the 2nd Extraordinary Session of the 15th Term, the National Assembly passed the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment (amended). The Law is built with the patient at the center of all activities providing medical examination and treatment services; enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency, order, discipline and discipline of state management of medical examination and treatment activities; applying for the first time the National Medical Council model to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment and international integration.

The Law amends and supplements regulations on State policies and a number of administrative procedures in the direction of maximally simplifying the procedures, processes, procedures, and records; reducing the time for reviewing, re-issuing, extending, and adjusting practice licenses, operating licenses, etc. to create favorable conditions for patients, practitioners, and medical examination and treatment facilities during the process of medical examination and treatment.

3. The Ministry of Health advises and develops many policies to remove difficulties in bidding, purchasing drugs, medical supplies and vaccines.

Overcoming difficulties and challenges after 3 years of the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2023, the Ministry of Health advised the National Assembly and the Government to issue many important legal documents, removing difficulties in bidding, purchasing drugs, medical supplies, vaccines... to promptly meet the requirements of medical examination and treatment, ensuring health care for people.

- On January 9, 2023, the National Assembly issued Resolution No. 80/2023/QH15 on continuing to implement a number of policies in the prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of drug and pharmaceutical ingredient circulation registration certificates that expire from January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024.

- On March 3, 2023, the Government issued Decree No. 07/2023/ND-CP amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree No. 98/2021/ND-CP dated November 8, 2021 on medical equipment management. The Decree has addressed the shortcomings, limitations, and inadequacies in medical equipment management in recent times, gradually perfecting the state management institution on medical equipment, meeting practical requirements and international integration requirements in the field of medical equipment...

- On March 4, 2023, the Government issued Resolution No. 30/NQ-CP on continuing to implement solutions to ensure medicines and medical equipment. Resolution No. 30/NQ-CP amends Clause 4 of Resolution No. 144/NQ-CP dated November 5, 2022 with important contents such as: Allowing continued payment of medical examination and treatment costs under health insurance for technical services performed by machines provided by contractors after winning the bid for materials and chemicals according to the contractor selection results approved by competent authorities in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Bidding...

- On July 10, 2023, the Government issued Resolution No. 98/NQ-CP on allocating the 2023 central budget to the Ministry of Health to purchase vaccines for the Expanded Immunization Program.

- On December 30, 2023, the Government issued Resolution No. 224/NQ-CP on ensuring funding for vaccine procurement for the Expanded Immunization Program.

4. Removing the mechanism for payment of medical examination and treatment costs

The Ministry of Health advised the Government to issue Decree No. 75/2023/ND-CP amending and supplementing Decree No. 146/2018/ND-CP, removing difficulties in payment of health insurance examination and treatment costs; increasing the benefit level from 80% to 100% of health insurance examination and treatment costs for some groups of subjects; enhancing the role and responsibility of ministries, branches, and medical examination and treatment facilities in managing and effectively using the Health Insurance Fund.

The Ministry of Health issued Circular No. 13/2023/TT-BYT dated June 29, 2023 regulating the price framework and pricing method for on-demand medical examination and treatment provided by State medical examination and treatment facilities, creating a legal corridor for on-demand medical examination and treatment activities.

5. UNESCO honors the great physician Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac

At the 42nd session of the General Assembly of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on November 21, a resolution was passed approving the list of "Cultural Celebrities and Historical Events for the 2024-2025 school year", including the dossier commemorating the 300th anniversary of the birth of the great physician Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac. The resolution passed by UNESCO is the clearest affirmation of Vietnam's great contributions in the fields of education, health, culture and society, and at the same time demonstrates the spread of Vietnamese talent and intelligence in the international arena.

Previously, on December 25, 2019, the Government issued Decision No. 1893/QD-TTg on the Program for developing traditional medicine and pharmacy, combining traditional medicine and pharmacy with modern medicine and pharmacy by 2030; Accordingly, the goal by 2030 is: 100% of provinces and cities establish traditional medicine and pharmacy general hospitals; 95% of modern hospitals establish traditional medicine and pharmacy departments; 100% of commune health stations use traditional medicine and pharmacy in health care and medical examination and treatment for people...

6. COVID-19 officially moves to Group B infectious disease, recognizing Vietnam's success in disease prevention and control

According to Decision No. 3896/QD-BYT dated October 19, 2023 of the Ministry of Health, from October 20, COVID-19 is no longer a group A infectious disease but has been transferred to group B according to the Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases 2007; This is an important milestone recognizing Vietnam's success in preventing and controlling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Along with continuing to maintain the achievements in preventing and fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, the entire industry has effectively responded to other emerging epidemics, as well as infectious diseases, not allowing "epidemics to overlap with epidemics". Regularly assess, analyze, assess, and forecast the epidemic situation. Prepare scenarios and response plans for all epidemic situations. Strengthen communication, raise awareness among people and the community about prevention, health improvement, focusing on nutrition, protection, and physical training.

7. The health sector strongly reforms administration and digitally transforms

Administrative reform and digital transformation at the Ministry of Health and the entire health sector in 2023 have had a strong change.

The Party Committee of the Ministry of Health issued Resolution No. 157-NQ/BCSĐ dated February 3, 2023 on Digital transformation of healthcare by 2025, with a vision to 2030;

The Ministry of Health has completed the Steering Committee for Digital Transformation, 100% of units under the Ministry of Health have established a Digital Transformation Team; Connecting 63 Departments of Health, 63 Social Insurance agencies, 99.5% of medical examination and treatment facilities nationwide with the appraisal system of Vietnam Social Insurance. 100% of hospitals have deployed the hospital information system.

100% of medical examination and treatment facilities nationwide have deployed health insurance examination and treatment using chip-embedded citizen identification cards, with over 49.6 million successful searches of health insurance card information using chip-embedded citizen identification cards to serve health insurance examination and treatment procedures.

- 63/63 Departments of Health of provinces and centrally-run cities, 4,160 medical examination and treatment facilities have deployed electronic prescriptions and linked prescriptions with the national prescription system.

- 63/63 provinces and cities nationwide have deployed the electronic health statistics system, with most units entering complete data; Maintain updating of 5 reporting indicators connected to the Government Reporting Information System.

8. Many breakthroughs in surgery, treatment, improving the quality of medical examination and treatment to serve the people

2023 marks the year of serving many important events of the Party and State in medical examination and treatment, food hygiene and safety, epidemic prevention and emergency response of the health sector.

Medical examination and treatment have recovered after more than 3 years of preventing the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the number of outpatient and inpatient visits increased at hospitals, with some hospitals seeing an increase of more than 50% compared to the same period in 2023. The rate of patient satisfaction reached over 90%.

Many complicated surgeries and treatments have been performed at many hospitals across the country.

Typical examples include the simultaneous heart and kidney transplant performed by the medical team of the Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital on February 15; the cross-Vietnam organ transplant performed on February 26 by Cho Ray Hospital and the Vietnam-Germany Friendship Hospital; and the laparoscopic surgery to treat a choledochal cyst for an Australian patient at Saint Paul Hospital (Vietnam is one of two countries in the world implementing single-port laparoscopic surgery in the treatment of many dangerous diseases).

The nearly 8-hour overnight surgery to reattach the severed hand of a 21-month-old baby was performed by doctors from Hanoi Medical University Hospital; the valve-within-valve replacement technique was performed for the first time in Vietnam by the National Heart Institute; the baby boy was born at 25 weeks of gestation, weighing only 600 grams with congenital intestinal stenosis, and was saved by a team of doctors from 2 units, the Central Maternity Hospital and the Viet-Duc Friendship Hospital...

The above achievements confirm the increasingly high level of doctors and the remarkable development of Vietnamese medicine. This development not only meets the medical examination and treatment needs of the people in the country but also attracts more and more foreign patients to Vietnam for medical examination and treatment.

9. Vietnam is the leading country in Asia-Pacific in HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), contributing to reducing the risk of HIV infection.

In July 2023, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health delegation attended the 12th International Conference on HIV Science (IAS) in Australia. At this event, Vietnam was the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to commit to the United Nations 90-90-90 target by 2020 (90% of people living with HIV know their HIV status, 90% of people diagnosed with HIV are treated with antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and 90% of people receiving ARVs have low viral loads (below 1000 copies/ml) to live healthy lives and reduce the risk of transmitting HIV to others.

10. External activities of the health sector are promoted.

In 2023, continuing to effectively implement the foreign policy of the 13th Party Congress, the health sector has carried out many diverse and practical foreign affairs activities and achieved many important results, contributing to strengthening international integration and developing the health system in both depth and breadth.

Domestically, the Ministry of Health has officially welcomed 3 delegations of Health Ministers from various countries to visit Vietnam, signed 4 international agreements at the ministerial level (Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation with the Lao Ministry of Health, the Danish Ministry of Health, the US Department of Health and Human Services, Harvard Medical University, and a diplomatic note on investment cooperation in health care with the Government of Japan) and many Memorandums of Understanding on cooperation at the unit level signed with foreign partners to promote cooperation in many fields.

Over 1,800 conferences and technical seminars with foreign elements have been held domestically, especially the 49th Meeting of the Global Fund's Executive Council, which was held from May 8, 2023 to May 12, 2023 in Hanoi with the participation of many senior health officials around the world and many donors, thereby increasing investment attraction and financial support for the prevention of 3 diseases: Tuberculosis, Malaria and HIV/AIDS in Vietnam.

Vaccine diplomacy will also continue to be promoted. In 2023, Vietnam will receive 432,000 doses of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine for people aged 12 and above supported by COVAX; vaccines in Routine Immunization include: 185,700 doses of DPT-VGB-Hib vaccine (5 in 1) supported by WHO and UNICEF; 490,600 doses of DPT-VGB-Hib vaccine (5 in 1) supported by the Australian Government.