The Ministry of Health estimates that approximately 300,000 people from abroad visit Vietnam each year for medical examination and treatment.
Opening up prospects
On May 28, fetal intervention specialists and pediatric cardiologists from Tu Du Hospital and Children's Hospital 1 in Ho Chi Minh City successfully performed a complex in-utero heart intervention on the fetus of a Singaporean woman. The mother was 22 weeks pregnant, and the fetus had been diagnosed with a severe congenital heart defect. This significant achievement has garnered the attention of the regional medical community.
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An Indonesian patient with rectal cancer receives treatment at the Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital in July 2024 |
The success of the surgery not only demonstrates that Vietnamese doctors have mastered and successfully applied new techniques, but it also serves as an impetus to attract foreigners to Vietnam for medical examination and treatment.
Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan has sent a letter of commendation to the teams and leadership of the two hospitals. The minister noted that the successful application of the fetal heart intervention technique has opened up numerous opportunities for the development of advanced technology and specialized techniques in medical services. This achievement has also enhanced the trust in, reputation, and prestige of Vietnam's healthcare sector in the international arena.
Previously, an Australian family living in Bali, Indonesia, took their 4-year-old daughter to Vietnam for single-port laparoscopic surgery to treat choledochal cysts – a technique currently performed successfully by only two centers in the world.
After the surgery conducted at the Hanoi-based Saint Paul's Hospital, the child patient quickly recovered with a small incision, leaving no large scars, leaving the family relieved and completely satisfied with the operation.
Meanwhile, at the Viet Duc Friendship Hospital in Hanoi, a 30-year-old Vietnamese woman living in New Zealand underwent a surgery to reconstruct the perineum and anal sphincter after three failed surgeries in New Zealand. Ten days after being discharged from the hospital in good health, she and her Iranian husband expressed their absolute satisfaction with the quality of treatment and the dedication of the Vietnamese medical team.
Recently, the Colorectal-Perineal Surgery Center of the Viet Duc Friendship Hospital has received patients who had been unsuccessfully treated in Poland, Hungary, Japan, or the U.K.
Foreigners have considered making the journey to Vietnam to benefit from the country’s improved healthcare services, lower medical costs, and skilled medical staff.
Notably, Ho Chi Minh City, which attracts more than 40% of foreign visitors using medical services in Vietnam, represents great potential to develop medical tourism through strong promotion and appropriate policies.
Hospitals seize opportunities
The increasing number of foreigners coming to Vietnam for medical treatment has opened up great opportunities for medical tourism. To anticipate this trend, major hospitals have been actively training high-quality human resources, upgrading facilities, and promoting international cooperation.
Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Traditional Medicine Nguyen Thanh Tuyen said that the institute has been offering medical tourism for about three years. This is part of its development orientation, but the effectiveness of the medical tourism program so far is still limited, not commensurate with the institute's potential.
Although the institute has continuously engaged in promotion programs of the tourism department and travel companies, it has mainly taken part in surveys and introduction activities, and there have not been as many medical tourist groups as expected. The institute has mainly received individual tourists.
However, medical tourism is still a priority of the institute in the coming time, focusing on seeking a common voice with travel companies to meet the diverse needs of international tourists.
In addition, he noted, the unit aims to develop a contingent of doctors with high expertise and good foreign language skills, and to provide comprehensive support from reception to treatment.
"Tourists from different countries have different needs, depending on the disease model, the need for care, or the desire to learn about Vietnamese medicine. The institute needs to approach and apply cooperation models aligned with the specific needs of each group," said Tuyen.
A leader of a specialized hospital in Ho Chi Minh City also said that there remain difficulties in medical tourism development in public hospitals, with the rate of foreigners coming for treatment still low. Foreign tourists and patients tend to go to cosmetic hospitals or large private centers.
As a Grade-1 specialized hospital, the Ho Chi Minh City Dermatology Hospital has become a trusted destination for both domestic and foreign patients in the treatment of skin and cosmetic diseases.
Hospital Director Dr. Nguyen Thi Phan Thuy said that the hospital’s biggest advantage is its staff’ high expertise and the combination of modern medicine and advanced cosmetic technology.
The Military Central Hospital 108 also aims to promote training and strengthen research cooperation with partners in more than 40 countries and many international organizations to acquire experience, techniques, and the quintessence of global medicine. The achievements of the domestic health sector not only generate opportunities to improve the quality of life for patients but also demonstrate the sector's capacity and strong efforts in integrating into the world.
The hospital is striving to become a prestigious and friendly healthcare facility not only for Vietnamese military personnel and people but also for foreigners visiting, living, and working in Vietnam.
Vietnam has sufficient resources, capabilities
Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Tang Chi Thuong said that more international tourists are coming to Vietnam for medical treatment thanks to good service quality and competitive costs. In addition to upgrading facilities, hospitals in the city are improving their professional quality to meet international standards so that international insurance companies can sign contracts, creating conditions for foreigners to come for treatment.
Dr. Vu Nam from the National Economics University, who is also former Deputy Director of the Department of Tourism Market under the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism, said that medical tourism and health tourism/wellness tourism are developing in many countries around the world.
Vietnam have enough resources and capabilities to develop both types of tourism, he opined.
Healthcare tourism activities such as hot spring bathing, spa, and meditation have become very popular. However, he added, those related to specialized medical examination and treatment still has a lot of room for development in the future.
First, Vietnam now has a modern hospital system with many meeting international standards, especially in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Second, Vietnamese doctors are highly skilled, on par with those in the region and the world.
Third, in addition to Western medicine, the country also possesses traditional medicine and medicinal plants such as acupuncture or herbal therapies, boasting great potential for medical tourism.
Finally, medical costs in Vietnam are much cheaper than in other countries in the region and the world.
The tourism development strategy to 2030 also places special emphasis on developing quality, diverse, and distinctive tourism products, with priority given to health-related tourism such as medical tourism and wellness tourism, to make use of natural and cultural resources and bring into play the national identity.
Efforts made to become leading healthcare center in ASEAN
In 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee approved the project on developing the local healthcare system so that the city can become a healthcare center in the ASEAN region from now until 2030 and beyond.
The municipal Department of Health said this is a strategic step to not only improve the quality of health services but also realize the goal set out in the Politburo's Resolution No.31 on the direction and tasks of city development by 2030, with a vision to 2045.
With a sustainable development strategy and the determination of the entire system, Ho Chi Minh City is gradually realizing the goal of becoming a leading healthcare center in ASEAN. It is working to not only meet the healthcare needs of domestic patients but also attract international ones, helping affirm Vietnam's position on the world's healthcare map.
Great opportunity for tourism
According to Dr. Nam, combining tourism with healthcare is a rapidly growing trend in the tourism industry.
He cited the Global Wellness Institute (GWI) as reporting that the global healthcare tourism industry is experiencing rapid growth, especially in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Estimates show the market could reach 850 billion USD by 2025, with forecasts indicating an annual growth rate of about 7-8% in the coming years.
This presents a significant opportunity for Vietnam's tourism industry, Nam emphasized.
Nam said that there are four large medical tourism models in the world: cosmetic surgery tourism and appearance care, treatment of serious and fatal diseases (such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, organ transplants), medical tourism combined with resort tourism, and traditional medicine tourism.
Of the four models, in the short term, Vietnam may not be able to compete with countries like Thailand or the Republic of Korea in terms of cosmetic surgery and appearance care. However, regarding the other three, Vietnam can completely compete fairly with other countries thanks to its natural condition and climate advantages, rich medicinal plant resources, and the skillfulness of doctors, Nam analyzed.
However, to turn medical and healthcare tourism into a key product, there is still much to be done, he opined.
First, Vietnam needs to have a clear strategy for medicine and healthcare development. In 2023, the Ministry of Health issued a project to develop traditional medicine services and products for tourists by 2030. However, a broader strategy is still needed to cover all the above-mentioned models and devise a clear development road-map for each model.
To do this, he added, the tourism and health sectors require close cooperation as well as general support and direction from the Government.
Second, it is necessary to identify destinations and establishments serving healthcare tourists so as to develop specific medical or healthcare tourism products.
Third, the State and businesses should work together more closely in promoting these products and services, branding Vietnam as a leading medical and healthcare tourism destination in the region, especially for services that Vietnam has strengths in such as dental services, traditional medicine, and functional rehabilitation, Nam proposed.
Region- and world-level hospitals required
Duong Huy Luong, Deputy Director of the Health Ministry's Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, stated that Vietnamese citizens spend approximately 2 billion USD annually on medical services abroad. This figure is expected to rise to between 3 and 4 billion USD in the near future.
Therefore, to become a healthcare center in ASEAN, the country needs to improve high-quality medical human resources, invest more in infrastructure, develop specialized medical services, and combine modern medicine and traditional medicine. It also needs to promote digital transformation, R&D and innovation, simplify administrative procedures, and ensure competitive costs.
Luong also said that the Government is encouraging hospitals, both public and private, to transform into specialized medical centers.
The Health Ministry has developed a project on high-quality medical examination and treatment to attract foreigners and people who can afford medical examination and treatment in Vietnam.
According to this project, the domestic healthcare system will serve various groups of patients, including vulnerable and low-income people as well as those with demand for high-quality services.
Source: VNA