Following the merger, Ho Chi Minh City's health sector is responsible for providing healthcare to nearly 15 million people, becoming the largest healthcare system in the country. The simultaneous expansion in administrative boundaries, population size, and healthcare needs has created an urgent need for fundamental reforms in the organization, management, and provision of healthcare services to suit the city's new development context.
In response to this need, the Ho Chi Minh City Health Department has proactively shifted its development towards a multi-tiered, multi-polar, multi-center healthcare ecosystem model, aiming to ensure rational resource allocation, enhance coverage capacity, and improve access to healthcare services for people throughout the city, especially ensuring that people receive healthcare right from the primary healthcare level.
This is seen as a move to realize Resolution No. 72-NQ/TW dated September 9, 2025, of the Politburo on a number of breakthrough solutions to strengthen the protection, care, and improvement of people's health in the city.
"Free health check-up event"
"Health check-ups and screenings must be organized for 100% of the population living in the city by 2026" - This directive was issued by Politburo member and Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang at the 5th Conference of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee's Executive Board for the 2025-2030 term on April 1, 2026.
Immediately, the healthcare system stepped in to organize a large-scale free health check-up campaign. Ho Chi Minh City became the first locality in the country to provide free health check-ups and screenings for all citizens.
In mid-April 2026, upon hearing the news that all residents of the city would receive free health checkups, Mr. Hoang, 52 years old, a ride-hailing driver residing in Di An ward, went to 535/6 Le Hong Phong Street, Phu Loi ward to register for a health checkup. For the past four years, Mr. Hoang had never had a health checkup because he did not have an employment contract.
After measuring his height, weight, and blood pressure, Mr. Hoang had blood tests, an ultrasound, an X-ray, and met with a doctor to discuss the results.
"The health check-up was free, but it followed all the same procedures as those at companies. I was really surprised," Mr. Hoang shared.
Meanwhile, Ms. Mai, 55, a small business owner at Thu Dau Mot market, discovered she had symptoms of diabetes after a free health check-up. She said: “The doctor advised me to change my diet and lifestyle to prevent the disease from worsening. Thanks to this check-up, I detected the disease early.”
April 17, 2026 became a major free health check-up event in Ho Chi Minh City. The program took place simultaneously at 168 commune, ward, and special zone health stations, much to the excitement and joy of the people.
To carry out this unprecedented large-scale health check-up campaign, the city mobilized medical staff from 101 public and private hospitals; including 6 hospitals under ministries/sectors, 69 general and specialized hospitals of the city, and 26 private hospitals.
Notably, this health check-up not only facilitates access to multidisciplinary services right in people's homes, but also focuses on groups that need more attention, such as the elderly, people with chronic diseases, self-employed workers, vulnerable groups, and high-risk groups.
At the same time, the activity also contributes to raising public awareness of the role of regular health check-ups, early detection of diseases, and continuous health management in the community.
In just one day of the campaign, nearly 30,000 people received free health checkups. Many were diagnosed with illnesses or risk factors for the first time, leading to early treatment advice, referrals to specialists, or continued monitoring at the local level.
Doctors recorded 19,088 cases with health problems, accounting for 64.3% of those examined. Of these, 10,634 people needed continued monitoring at the health station; 8,447 cases were referred to specialists, transferred to higher-level facilities, or received further treatment.
The most common are non-communicable chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases. Many cases of diseases in other fields such as obstetrics and gynecology, ophthalmology, dentistry, respiratory, otolaryngology, dermatology, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, etc., are also detected through health checkups.
Shift from a "cure" mindset to a "prevention" mindset.
According to Associate Professor, Doctor Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, the city's free health check-up program for all citizens has initially yielded clear results, helping people detect diseases early, reducing the risk of serious illnesses, and supporting treatment referral and reducing the burden on higher-level hospitals.
This is also an important step in the transition from a "cure" mindset to a "prevention" mindset, building a proactive healthcare system, strengthening primary healthcare, and moving towards the goal of managing people's health throughout their lifecycle across the entire region.
The leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health stated that the event on April 17th was not only a simultaneous launch but also the starting point for a program of regular health check-ups, screenings, and disease detection for all residents of the city in 2026 and subsequent years, aiming for proactive, continuous, and comprehensive health management for nearly 15 million people in a megacity.
To ensure effective and sustainable free health check-ups for all citizens, guaranteeing that at least every citizen receives a health check-up once a year as directed by the Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, the Department of Health has planned to implement a "three-pronged" model with three comprehensive, mutually supportive solution groups, ensuring that no citizen is left out.
Specifically, the city will conduct health checkups across administrative boundaries, in line with the characteristics of Ho Chi Minh City's population, which includes many self-employed workers, temporary residents, and those who frequently move around.
The City Health Department's perspective is that "healthcare must follow the people," allowing people to choose the most convenient facility regardless of their place of residence. This approach helps expand coverage, increase flexibility, and reduce the risk of omissions.
The city also aims to ensure that health check-ups take place right at the grassroots healthcare system. This goes beyond just a few check-ups, linking them to regular monitoring, chronic disease management, ongoing counseling and care in residential areas, and promoting the role of health centers and community health care teams.
Based on this foundation, the city will collect, standardize, and integrate people's health examination data, helping to avoid duplicate examinations and save resources; while simultaneously creating a comprehensive picture of population health on an electronic health record platform.
“We believe this is not a short-term campaign, but the beginning of a new approach to public health care – where every citizen receives lifelong health management, and the healthcare system proactively takes a step ahead to protect, care for, and improve community health,” affirmed Mr. Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health.
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Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/tien-phong-kham-suc-khoe-mien-phi-toan-dan-post1111527.vnp
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