HCM City (VNA) - From battling epidemics to restructuring its system following the administrative boundary expansion, Ho Chi Minh City’s health sector has overcome difficulties and gradually reaffirmed its role as the nation’s largest medical hub.
Strengthening primary healthcare
The COVID-19 pandemic was seen as a harsh test, exposing weaknesses across the healthcare system — from the capacity of grassroots facilities and workforce shortages to limitations in coordination, management, and emergency response. In the post-pandemic period, HCM City’s health system has entered a phase of comprehensive reconstruction and reinforcement.
Drawing on valuable lessons from the pandemic, the municipal authorities have swiftly implemented programmes to strengthen disease prevention capacity, invested in infrastructure, and modernised hospital operations toward autonomy and universal healthcare.
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the municipal Department of Health, the sector has focused on three key goals over the last two years, including strengthening primary healthcare, enhancing preventive medicine, and modernising treatment.
At the same time, the city is implementing a project to develop its healthcare system into a healthcare hub in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the next five years and beyond, aiming to build an advanced and modern medical system.
Following the administrative boundary expansion, the southern metropolis has promptly developed a comprehensive plan for its healthcare network to align with the enlarged urban space.
The municipal People’s Committee has been consulted to build a multi-tier, interconnected system that closely links primary healthcare with specialised hospitals, ensuring comprehensive and accessible care for all residents. Several leading specialised hospitals have received investments for expansion and modernisation.
Primary healthcare has been significantly strengthened, serving as the “first line of defence” in disease prevention, community health management, and early screening for non-communicable diseases. Many health stations have been upgraded, staffed with family doctors and young physicians. Mobile health stations and home healthcare services continue to operate, providing faster and more convenient access to medical care. At the same time, programmes for elderly care, school health, mental health, and non-communicable diseases are being expanded, shifting the focus from “treating illness” to “managing public health.”
The city’s health sector has been restructuring its healthcare network to reduce overlap and waste, ensuring efficient management and equitable, quality access for all residents, whether in the urban centre or peripheral areas. Attention has been paid to building a strong workforce of healthcare professionals with the necessary expertise, integrity, and service spirit to meet the demands of a densely populated and special-status city.
As a pioneer in implementing a smart healthcare platform, HCM City has now equipped all medical facilities with electronic health records, telemedicine services, and smart hospital management systems, which help reduce administrative procedures, save time, and increase transparency. Residents can easily access medical information, schedule appointments, and receive test results online.
Smart healthcare operation centres are being developed, aiming for health governance based on big data and artificial intelligence (AI), forming a “digital health city.” This is a strategic step toward building an innovative and highly interactive city.
Building a modern and integrated healthcare network
Following the mergence with Binh Duong and Ba Ria–Vung Tau provinces, HCM City’s health sector is expected to significantly improve service quality and ensure healthcare for a megacity of over 13.6 million people. The city has launched programmes to strengthen health stations for primary care, patient triage, and routine health monitoring. At the same time, general and specialised hospitals are continually advancing high-level medical techniques, aiming to establish a regional-standard, specialised healthcare hub.
Dr Tran Van Song, Director of 115 People’s Hospital, stated that a series of new diagnostic and treatment techniques have been successfully implemented at the hospital, offering higher survival chances for patients with complex and critical illnesses. These advancements also expand medical options for residents, reducing the need to seek treatment abroad.
According to Thuong, in the coming period, HCM City aims to build a fair and efficient healthcare system based on a “people-centred” approach. Alongside improving medical service quality, the city will strengthen preventive care and public health, with a focus on vulnerable groups such as the elderly, migrant workers, children, and students. Key initiatives will also continue, including enhancing epidemic prevention capacity, consolidating primary healthcare, developing community health, professionalising out-of-hospital emergency services, and advancing specialised medical care, all toward the goal of making the city a healthcare hub in ASEAN.
Thuong emphasised the need to mobilise and efficiently use resources to protect, care for, and improve the health, stature, longevity, and quality of life of residents. There is also a need to develop comprehensive healthcare programmes and sustainable population growth, implement a population ageing adaptation strategy, and establish a full-spectrum healthcare service system for the elderly across the city.
The municipal health sector has always regarded the health of its people as its most valuable asset, and every policy and programme is aimed at better serving the community, Thuong stressed.
Strengthened international cooperation
HCM City has become a preferred partner for international health organisations in research, training, and technology transfer. For example, the Hospital for Tropical Diseases collaborates with Oxford University’s Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU), while other hospitals have expanded partnerships with institutions in Taiwan (China), the UK, Japan, France, the Republic of Korea, and the US. The areas of cooperation include organ transplantation, cancer treatment, cardiology, obstetrics, and paediatrics.
These partnerships not only help enhance professional expertise but also allow Vietnamese patients access to advanced medical treatments without travelling abroad./.
