Breakthrough solutions for a healthy Vietnam

Phuoc Thai Commune Health Station staff check the medicine stock at the station to serve medical examination and treatment for people. Photo: Hanh Dung

The goals set out in Resolution 72 have profound humanistic significance, aiming at social justice, promoting disease prevention, proactive health care, improving the capacity of the health system, long-term, sustainable development, and building a healthy Vietnam.

A push for grassroots healthcare to "transform"

Specialist II Doctor Do Thi Nguyen, Director of Dong Nai Department of Health, said: “Dong Nai health sector staff are very happy when Resolution 72 was issued. Among the breakthrough policies, I am very interested in the content of developing primary health care. This will be a great motivation for doctors and health workers at the grassroots level to work with peace of mind and dedicate themselves to narrowing the gap in quality of medical examination and treatment between health care levels. Thereby, building a fair health system, meeting the increasing needs of primary health care of the people”.

According to Resolution 72, in the period of 2025-2030, each year localities will rotate, transfer, and mobilize at least 1,000 doctors to work for a limited time at commune health stations; supplement permanent doctors at health stations. 100% of commune-level health stations will be invested in facilities, medical equipment, and human resources according to their functions and tasks. By 2027, each commune health station will have at least 4-5 doctors.

Specialist II Doctor Do Thi Nguyen said: In order for the grassroots health sector to promote its role as the closest to the people, understand the people best, and provide the best primary health care for the people, the leaders of the Department of Health have assigned Thong Nhat General Hospital (one of the two specialized hospitals in Dong Nai province) to support the training of human resources for grassroots health. In addition, the department coordinates with medical universities to organize training to improve the expertise and skills of grassroots health workers. Thereby, helping grassroots health workers to be able to perform basic techniques such as: ultrasound, reading electrocardiograms, screening patients, and making appropriate referrals...

Medical staff get special treatment

Another "knot" that Resolution 72 "untangled" was the issue of income and treatment for medical staff.

Dr. Ho Van Hoai, Director of Vinh Cuu Regional Medical Center, shared: Previously, the salary of newly graduated doctors was equal to that of other professions even though doctors had to study for 6 years at university, plus 12-18 months of practice, while most other professions only had to study for 4 years. This was not appropriate and made doctors "worry" a lot. Retaining doctors to work long-term at public health facilities was difficult, keeping them at health facilities in remote, isolated, and disadvantaged areas was even more difficult. Therefore, when Resolution 72 emphasized that it would implement a special treatment policy for the medical profession, everyone was very happy.

Specifically, Resolution 72 states that doctors, preventive medicine doctors, and pharmacists are ranked from level 2 of the recruited professional title. Increase the level of preferential occupational allowance to at least 70% for those who regularly and directly work in medical profession at commune health stations and preventive medical facilities; to 100% for those who regularly and directly work in medical profession at commune health stations and preventive medical facilities in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, areas with difficult and especially difficult socio -economic conditions, border areas, islands, psychiatric fields, forensic medicine, forensic psychiatry, emergency resuscitation, pathology and some other special subjects.

Resolution 72 also sets out the goal of comprehensively reforming the style, spirit, and attitude of serving the people and patients of the medical staff. Doctors and medical staff must strive to have deep medical knowledge, good medical skills, good medical ethics, and dedication to their profession, worthy of the trust and respect of society.

Along with that, the working environment will be improved, safety will be ensured, and pressure on medical staff will be reduced. Priority will be given to attracting foreign investment, high-quality intellectuals and experts in the medical field from abroad to invest and work in Vietnam; excellent students and medical staff will be sent for advanced training in countries with strengths, with funding from scholarship programs.

People benefit

Specialist II Doctor Le Thi Phuong Tram, Deputy Director of Dong Nai General Hospital shared: I am very pleased with the policy that from 2026, people will receive free periodic health check-ups or screening at least once a year. Because in reality, many people do not pay attention to periodic health check-ups. Therefore, many people, although sick, are not detected early, and by the time they are hospitalized, the disease is already severe, leading to very difficult treatment, low efficiency and high treatment costs, especially for cancer and some other chronic diseases. Free periodic health check-ups are a great motivation for people to care and pay more attention to their own health and that of their loved ones, reducing the burden of disease as well as medical costs, ensuring social security.

According to Dr. Tram, when commune health stations are properly invested, doctors and medical staff at the station level will have good conditions to perform preventive tasks, health screening for local people and transfer patients to higher levels when needed. Thus, the protection and care of people's health will be synchronized from commune to province, improving the quality of medical examination and treatment.

As a person who regularly has to go to the hospital for examination and treatment of high blood pressure and diabetes, Mr. Nguyen Van Quang (73 years old, residing in Tan Trieu ward, Dong Nai province) said he is very happy that the State has a policy that by 2030, people will be exempted from basic hospital fees.

Resolution 72 sets the target that by 2030, the average height of Vietnamese children and adolescents aged 1-18 will increase by at least 1.5cm; the average life expectancy will reach 75.5 years, of which the number of healthy years will reach at least 68 years. The vaccination rate for vaccines in the Essential Immunization Program will reach over 95%.

“A few months ago, when I heard that the government would exempt tuition fees for public school students, I hoped that one day people would also be exempted from hospital fees when going to see a doctor or getting treatment. Now that is about to come true, helping disadvantaged people like us have more opportunities for long-term treatment,” Mr. Quang confided.

According to Resolution 72, hospital fees will be exempted for people, first of all for social policy beneficiaries, the disadvantaged, low-income people and some other priority subjects within the scope of health insurance benefits according to the roadmap. From 2026, gradually increase the rate, payment level, and expenditure for disease prevention, diagnosis, and early treatment of some diseases and priority subjects according to the roadmap from the Health Insurance Fund to reduce the financial burden on patients, in accordance with the increase in health insurance contributions according to the provisions of law from 2027. The state budget and the Health Insurance Fund will pay for some disease prevention services, chronic disease management, periodic health check-ups and screening examinations according to professional requirements at the initial and basic medical examination and treatment levels according to the appropriate roadmap.

Dr. Do Thi Nguyen, Director of the Department of Health, emphasized: "To apply Resolution 72 in practice at the local level, it is necessary to have consensus and strong leadership from leaders at all levels to support the health sector to perform well its assigned tasks and improve the efficiency of its operations."

Hanh Dung

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/202509/giai-phap-dot-pha-vi-mot-viet-nam-khoe-manh-77019dd/