HCM City (VNA) – 🥀Vietnamese public hospitals need to adopt international standards to enhance their quality and meet the increasing demands of the population, said an official from the Ministry of Health on August 30.

Nguyen Trong Khoa, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Health’s Department of Medical Services Administration, said at a conference on quality management and patient safety held in Ho Chi Minh City that accrediting hospitals can help improve the quality of health care by setting attainable benchmarks, bettering coordination and management of services, and strengthening public trust in medical services quality.

In Vietnam, FV Hospital became the first to receive the HAS certification from France in 2007. Since then, other private hospitals, such as Vinmec and Phuong Chau, have achieved the Joint Commission International (JCI) accreditation from the US. Most recently, the Hung Vuong hospital in Ho Chi Minh City has received the accreditation from the Australian Council on Healthcare Standards International (ACHSI).

However, public hospitals in Vietnam find it hard to obtain international certification compared to their private peers due to both objective and subjective reasons, such as frequent overcrowding, difficulties in financial autonomy, and the lack of high-quality human resources.

Despite these challenges, Khoa noted that public hospitals now have opportunities to achieve this accreditation as the 2023 law on medical examination and treatment encourages health facilities to adopt higher quality standards, including international ones, and recognises these standards in Vietnam.

Louise Cuskelly, Executive Director of the ACHSI, called international accreditation a journey, not a one-time event, saying that earning it is challenging, but maintaining it is even harder, and that it serves as motivation for health facilities to continually improve their quality and reputation.

Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the HCM City Department of Health, noted global experience shows that better hospital management requires a shift from traditional management models to modern, flexible, and adaptive ones. Hospitals also need to invest in information technology and digital transformation, including electronic medical records, clinical decision support systems, and telemedicine.

ꦆ Presentations at the conference focused on topics such as current challenges to hospital management, challenges and opportunities presented by international accreditation for Vietnamese hospitals, its role in hospital development, and controlling processes to prevent errors at their source./.