What will the healthcare system of Ho Chi Minh City be like after the merger?

(Dan Tri) - On the afternoon of June 30, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health informed about the new healthcare system after the merger of Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau provinces from July 1.

Regarding health stations, 443 existing ward and commune health stations will continue to perform their current tasks and functions to avoid disrupting primary health care activities for the people.

Within 60 days (according to the project approved by the City People's Committee), the Department of Health will convert into 168 ward and commune health stations corresponding to the new wards and communes and 296 health points.

At the same time, based on the guidelines of the Ministry of Health to develop the functions, tasks and powers of new ward and commune health stations and health points, the Department of Health assigns regional health centers to prioritize additional human resources so that health stations and health points are eligible to sign health insurance examination and treatment contracts (for stations and health points that have not yet been deployed).

Coordinating human resources between new ward and commune health stations and local health stations is the responsibility of the health center director.

People go to see a doctor at a hospital in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: Dieu Linh).

For medical centers, 38 district and county medical centers (17 medical centers with beds, 21 medical centers without beds) will be converted into 38 regional medical centers, in charge of 168 commune and ward medical stations.

In particular, the four health centers with inpatient beds in the old Ho Chi Minh City (including the health centers of District 3, District 5, District 10 and Can Gio) will be converted into regional health centers without beds. The Department of Health assigned the health center directors to prioritize increasing medical human resources, especially doctors, to the new ward and commune health stations and health points.

These medical centers will also convert existing inpatient facilities into appropriate types to meet the medical examination and treatment needs of the people.

Regarding the 115 emergency system, the city currently has one 115 emergency center and 45 satellite emergency stations mainly in the old area. In the coming time, the city's health sector will continue to expand the network of satellite emergency stations to ensure coverage of the entire new Ho Chi Minh City area.

Regarding the system of medical examination and treatment facilities , the new Ho Chi Minh City will have 162 hospitals, including 12 ministerial and sector hospitals; 32 general hospitals; 28 specialized hospitals; and 90 non-public hospitals.

In addition, the number of private clinics has also increased significantly with nearly 9,886 specialized clinics, 351 general clinics and 15,611 pharmaceutical businesses and pharmacies.

Regarding the system of social protection centers, since July 1, the city has 110 social protection centers, including 15 public social protection centers and 95 non-public social protection centers.

In addition, the Department of Health advised the City People's Committee on a plan to merge non-hospital centers with the same name (Center for Disease Control, Center for Medical Examination, Center for Forensic Examination) with the goal of streamlining, efficiency, effectiveness, and efficiency according to the direction of the city's leaders.

The new healthcare system is diverse in types and the number of facilities is increasing, along with the expanding scale of the area, posing many challenges in the management of the Ho Chi Minh City healthcare sector, requiring a unified, flexible and modern management mechanism.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health will promote the application of information technology and digital transformation in management and administration, ensure reasonable allocation of resources, and enhance connectivity between medical facilities and levels.

At the same time, build a team of qualified human resources to adapt to the new organizational model, in order to better meet the increasing and diverse health care needs of the city's people in the new period.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/he-thong-y-te-sau-sap-nhap-cua-tphcm-se-nhu-the-nao-20250630190943652.htm