In addition to efforts to improve the quality of routine medical services, the year also marked significant milestones with the successful implementation of numerous advanced medical techniques across various specialties, contributing to increasing patient satisfaction, the minister said.
Healthcare sector makes stride in 2024. - Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) –ღ The health sector has achieved remarkable milestones in providing medical services in 2024 - the first year the amended Law on Medical Examination and Treatment takes effect, according to Health Minister Dao Hong Lan.
In addition to efforts to improve the quality of routine medical services, the year also marked significant milestones with the successful implementation of numerous advanced medical techniques across various specialties, contributing to increasing patient satisfaction, the minister said.
In October last year, doctors at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital brought pride to Vietnam’s healthcare sector, particularly in organ transplantation, by successfully performing the country’s first-ever simultaneous heart-liver transplant on a patient in critical condition.
Illustrative image. (Photo: VNA)
The National Lung Hospital also successfully performed lung transplant surgeries, including a case where two lungs were transplanted for a 56-year-old man in the central province of Thanh Hoa. This case was deemed the most comprehensive success in Vietnam, achieving the longest survival time.
These miracles demonstrate that Vietnamese doctors have fully mastered organ transplantation techniques, including complex multi-organ transplants. This marks a breakthrough in advanced medical technology, showcasing the expertise and capabilities of healthcare professionals on the global medical map, she stressed.
In 2024, the healthcare sector also contributed to supporting flood-affected communities, actively providing medical care to victims of the historic super Typhoon Yagi.
Lan highlighted the case of the "50 miraculous days of revival" of a baby from Nu village, a victim of flash floods after Typhoon Yagi. This case exemplified the dedication and determination of medical professionals in saving critically ill patients when survival seemed almost impossible.
With support from leading domestic and foreign experts, doctors at Bach Mai Hospital saved a pediatric patient who suffered from septic shock, multiple organ failure, severe respiratory distress, severe pneumonia from drowning and mud inhalation, grade 3 liver trauma, fractured right clavicle, subdural hematoma on the left hemisphere, and multiple organ failure infection.
Besides the achievements, she pointed out existing challenges facing the healthcare sector, including shifts in disease patterns, rapid population aging, climate change, quality management of medical personnel, and localised shortages of medicines, medical supplies, and equipment.
In 2025, the sector will accelerate policy development, refine the legal framework, and continue restructuring and streamlining the ministry's organisational structure, its affiliated units, and regional agencies.
It will continue to develop policies for grassroots and preventive healthcare, enhancing its capacity for disease forecasting, surveillance, and early detection, towards timely and effectively controlling epidemics and public health emergencies, the minister said.
Additionally, a roadmap to expand the number of vaccines and effectively carry out the Expanded Programme on Immunisation (EPI) will be performed, while population management in the new context will be enhanced, she added.
According to Lan, attention will be also paid to improving the quality of medical services, maternal and child healthcare, developing advanced medical techniques; expanding telemedicine services; enhancing hospital management and quality control; effectively integrating traditional medicine with modern medical practices; managing and licensing pharmaceuticals and medical equipment; accelerating application of advanced technologies and innovation, and digital transformation; promoting pharmaceutical industry and medicinal materials; and speeding up administrative procedure reforms and the progress of key projects./.
He stressed that, in addition to effectively implementing the Party's resolutions on healthcare, it is essential to adopt a new mindset to remove barriers and bottlenecks, enabling the sector to advance in the coming period.
International medical cooperation in Ho Chi Minh City has generated positive outcomes in recent years, contributing to improving the quality of medical services, protection, and care of people's health.
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.
