How can Ho Chi Minh City become a medical destination for foreigners: expert

According to Associate Professor Dr. Tang Chi Thuong, director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, Ho Chi Minh City has many advantages that could make it a medical destination for foreigners.

However, to turn these advantages into real appeal, the city needs a strong and coordinated policy package covering hospital quality standards, pricing mechanisms, international insurance, patient support, immigration procedures and links between healthcare and tourism.

“The goal is not only to attract more foreign patients, but more importantly, to gradually establish Ho Chi Minh City’s healthcare sector as a reputable medical destination in the region,” Thuong said.

To make Ho Chi Minh City a regional medical destination, Thuong said the city needs to develop a comprehensive policy package.

The policy should focus on recognizing and developing centers of excellence by selecting hospitals and specialties with strong capabilities and investing in them to meet international standards.

Priority should be given to competitive fields such as cardiology, oncology, surgery and robotic surgery, assisted reproduction, pediatrics, dentistry, cosmetic medicine, specialized health checkups, traditional medicine and rehabilitation.

The city should also support hospitals in obtaining international accreditations such as JCI, AACI and ACHS, while standardizing laboratory testing, infection control and patient safety.

At the same time, public hospitals should be allowed to set and publicly disclose service prices for foreign patients based on the principle of fully accounting for costs. 

Hospitals should also offer package-based examination and treatment services.

Any difference in revenue should be reinvested in professional expertise, facilities and healthcare workers’ incomes, without affecting domestic patients’ access to care.

According to the health department director, the city should also focus on establishing an international patient support center, connecting payment systems with international insurers, simplifying entry procedures for medical treatment and developing a foreigner-friendly hospital system.

Equally important is linking healthcare with tourism, aviation and accommodation, building on the cooperation platform between the healthcare and tourism sectors established in 2017. 

However, the city needs to move from promoting individual services to developing a complete service chain.

In addition, the city needs policies to promote and build the Ho Chi Minh City healthcare brand, including an official portal for international medical services that provides information on medical capabilities, doctors, treatment outcomes, quality certifications, prices and waiting times.

The city should conduct promotional activities in target markets, initially Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Indonesia and the Philippines, as well as among foreign communities living in Vietnam. 

It should also support hospitals in participating in trade fairs, forums and international patient referral networks.

The city's health sector chief said attracting foreigners for medical care should not rely on low prices alone, but on proven medical quality, transparent costs, convenient procedures and seamless services before, during and after treatment.

This would also be an important avenue for Ho Chi Minh City’s centers of excellence to gradually expand their reach regionally and internationally.