Patients are examined at Thao Dien ward health station in HCM City’s District 2 (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City is striving to become a centreof medical care for the ASEAN region, a leader of the city’s Department ofHealth said.
The health sector will also focus to improve the capacity of disease control andprevention, strengthen grassroots healthcare networks and intensive careambulance services this year, said Tang Chi Thuong, director of the department.
Development of human resources, proper investment in infrastructure and medicalequipment are priority areas in order to fulfill these tasks, he said at ameeting late last week to launch the tasks for 2023.
Digital transformation and the application of advanced techniques will befostered as part of measures to realise these tasks, he said.
A project to set up a hi-tech screening and diagnostic centre at OncologyHospital No.1 is being developed as part of efforts to develop a specialisedmedical care centre for the ASEAN region.
The hi-tech screening and diagnostic centre will help locals and foreigners,especially expats living in Vietnam, access high-quality health check servicesand examinations.
It is expected to reduce the number of patients travelling abroad for medicalexaminations and treatment and boost medical tourism.
Duong Anh Duc, deputy chairman of the city People's Committee, said that thehealth sector must be one of the pioneers of digital transformation to improvethe quality of health services and promote the city as a centre of high qualitymedical care in the region.
He asked the department to coordinate with the University of Medicine andPharmacy and Pham Ngoc Thach Medical University to train high-quality humanresources./.
Ho Chi Minh City’s Health Department on January 5 announced that a hi-tech screening and diagnostic centre is being developed at Oncology Hospital 2 in Thu Duc city, as part of a project to develop a specialised medical centre in the south of Vietnam and Southeast Asia.
Ho Chi Minh City held a get-together on January 7 for outstanding overseas Vietnamese who return home to welcome the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) – Vietnam’s biggest national festival.
Chairman of the Vietnam Buddhist Sangha (VBS)’s Executive Council Most Venerable Thich Thien Nhon opened a zero-dong fair in support of the poor on the occasion of the upcoming Lunar New Year (Tet) festival at Minh Dao pagoda, Ho Chi Minh City, on January 8.
Ho Chi Minh City received some 6.8 billion USD in remittances last year, only a slight decrease compared to 2021 and accounting for 48% of foreign currency deposits at its credit institutions.
Vietnam now boasts a nationwide healthcare network with 1,665 hospitals, 384 of which are non-public, supported by local commune- and ward-level stations. At the end of 2024, hospital bed capacity reached 34 per 10,000 people, slightly above the global average.
The 56-year-old patient from Quang Tri province was discharged in stable condition as he no longer experienced shortness of breath and was able to walk, move around, and eat normally.
Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Vu Trung, Director of the Pasteur Institute, said that under the MoU, the two sides committed to promoting diverse and practical collaborative activities, including joint conferences and workshops, exchanges of scholars, researchers and students, sharing academic materials, and the development of specific programmes and projects in scientific research, training, and epidemic prevention.
TytoCare, a leading Israeli telemedicine company based in Netanya, is willing to work with Vietnamese regulators, insurers, and healthcare providers to develop a sustainable digital health ecosystem.
The partnership is under the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding on the development and implementation of the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Control, signed in Hanoi on July 22.
An estimated 7 million Vietnamese are currently living with diabetes, but about 50% remain undiagnosed, a dangerous gap that is fuelling serious, preventable complications and increasing the burden on the healthcare system.
In 2024, Vietnam achieved 99% coverage for the first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine, up from 80% in 2023. Immunisation coverage in the country has not only rebounded to the high levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic but has now surpassed the rates recorded in 2019.
Health authorities in HCM City have issued an urgent alert after six people died from dengue fever, amid a spike in infections driven by the onset of the rainy season.
During the peak months of July and August 2025, the National Institute of Haematology and Blood Transfusion (NIHBT) needs at least 90,000 units of blood to supply 180 hospitals in the northern region. However, despite continuous efforts, the reserve blood is still short of 30,000 units.
The Hanoi ceremony highlighted efforts to ensure all citizens, especially women and youth, can access accurate information and healthcare services to make informed reproductive choices.
After such a long time, the law has revealed many limitations, prompting the Ministry of Health (MoH) to gather opinions to amend the law to give more chances to thousands of patients every year.
Currently, cardiovascular specialists from the 108 Military Central Hospital are working alongside a team of Prof.Dr. Jan D. Schmitto, Deputy Director of MHH’s Department of Cardiac, Thoracic, Transplantation and Vascular Surgery on clinical trials for MCS devices, implanted in heart failure patients either as a bridge to transplantation or as permanent treatment.
The centre not only serves residents living on the island, but also receives tens of thousands of visitors every year, according to Assoc Prof Dr Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the HCM CIty Department of Health.
Not only does Vietnam attract international tourists with its landscapes, culture, and cuisine, but it is also gradually becoming a reliable destination for medical treatment, offering high-quality services at reasonable costs.
Over the past six months, 150 communal health stations in provinces including Ha Giang, Bac Kan, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Yen Bai, Tay Ninh, Hau Giang, Ben Tre and Ca Mau have been equipped with information technology systems. In addition, 117 key provincial healthcare workers have received training, with thousands more expected to follow.
During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Ministry of Health swiftly launched a telemedicine programme, connecting more than 1,000 medical establishments nationwide. The model, which remains in operation, has benefited tens of thousands of patients, including foreign nationals.
After more than three weeks of intensive treatment, the patient's pneumonia improved, breathing stabilised, sedation was reduced, and the breathing tube was removed. He is now conscious, able to eat orally, and in recovery.
Patients are examined at Thao Dien ward health station in HCM City’s District 2 (Photo: VNA) 
