Vietnam has many conditions and opportunities to develop medical tourism combined with health care. In the photo: a team of doctors from Tu Du Hospital and Children's Hospital 1 (HCMC) successfully performed a cardiac intervention on a fetus for a 41-year-old Singaporean mother - Photo: Tu Du Hospital provided
According to estimates by the Ministry of Health , on average each year there are about 300,000 people from abroad coming to Vietnam for medical examination and treatment.
The tourism switchboard system and international tourism information portal must be completed soon, so that people from countries in the region can register for medical examination and treatment appointments in Vietnam. To do this, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health and related departments such as Tourism, Industry and Trade... should soon develop a project to have a specific mechanism to implement in the near future.
Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health TANG CHI THUONG
Opens up many possibilities
Recently, a successful fetal heart catheterization intervention for a Singaporean pregnant woman performed by a team of doctors from Children's Hospital 1 and Tu Du Hospital (HCMC) has aroused the attention of the regional medical community.
The success of the surgery not only shows that Vietnamese doctors have approached, mastered and successfully applied new techniques, but also serves as a "push" to attract foreigners to Vietnam for medical examination and treatment.
Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan sent a letter of commendation to the team and the leadership of the two hospitals. According to the minister, the success of the fetal cardiac intervention technique has opened up many prospects for the development of high technology and specialized techniques in medical examination and treatment, creating trust, image and international prestige for the country's healthcare sector.
Not long ago, at Saint Paul Hospital, an Australian family living in Bali (Indonesia) brought their 4-year-old daughter to Vietnam to have single-port laparoscopic surgery to treat a choledochal cyst - a technique that is currently only successfully performed at two centers in the world.
After the surgery, the girl quickly recovered with a small incision, leaving no large scars. The family was completely satisfied with their choice to come to Vietnam.
At Viet Duc Hospital (Hanoi), Ms. NTNA (30 years old, Vietnamese-New Zealander) underwent surgery to reconstruct the perineum and anal sphincter after three failed surgeries in New Zealand. Discharged from the hospital in good health after 10 days, she and her Iranian husband expressed absolute satisfaction with the quality of treatment and the dedication of the medical team.
Recently, the Colorectal - Perineal Surgery Center of Viet Duc Hospital has received a series of patients who had unsuccessful treatment in Poland, Hungary, Japan, England... to treat anal fistula and anal abscess in Vietnam.
The reasons attracting many foreigners to Vietnam for medical services are the quality of health care services is improving, treatment costs are much lower than abroad, the skills of Vietnamese doctors are not inferior to those in developed countries...
In particular, Ho Chi Minh City - the locality that accounts for more than 40% of foreign visitors using medical services nationwide - has great potential in developing medical tourism if it is strongly promoted and has appropriate policies.
The team of doctors from Children's Hospital 1 and Tu Du Hospital performed fetal heart catheterization for a Singaporean pregnant woman - Photo: Provided by Tu Du Hospital
Hospitals seize the opportunity
The increasing number of foreigners coming for medical treatment has opened up great opportunities for medical tourism, an industry with much room for development in Vietnam. To anticipate this trend, major hospitals have been actively training high-quality human resources, investing in facilities and promoting international cooperation.
Speaking to Tuoi Tre on June 1, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Tuyen - Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Traditional Medicine - said that the institute has been implementing medical tourism for about three years now. This is part of the institute's development orientation, but the effectiveness of the medical tourism program so far is still limited, not commensurate with the potential of the unit.
In fact, although the institute always accompanies the promotion and introduction programs of the tourism department and travel agencies, it mainly stops at the research and introduction stage, and there are not many medical tourism groups coming to cooperate as expected. Because the number of group guests has not been exploited by travel agencies, the unit mainly receives individual guests.
However, medical tourism is still the institute's priority direction in the coming time, focusing on finding common ground with travel companies to meet the diverse needs of international tourists.
In addition, develop a team of highly specialized doctors, good communication, and comprehensive support from reception to treatment.
"The needs of tourists from different countries are very different, depending on the disease model and the need for care or the desire to learn about Vietnamese medicine. The Institute needs to approach and propose cooperation models suitable to the specific needs of each group," said Mr. Tuyen.
The head of a tertiary care hospital in Ho Chi Minh City that offers medical services also said that medical tourism is still difficult to develop in public hospitals, with the rate of foreigners coming for treatment still low. Foreign tourists and patients still tend to go to cosmetic hospitals or large private centers.
As a grade 1 specialized hospital, Ho Chi Minh City Dermatology Hospital has become a trusted destination for domestic and foreign customers in the treatment of skin and cosmetic diseases.
Dr. Nguyen Thi Phan Thuy - hospital director - said that the biggest attraction of the hospital is the solid expertise of the team of highly trained doctors, combining modern medicine and advanced cosmetic technology.
The hospital is currently implementing additional specialized service packages such as comprehensive rejuvenation, post-treatment skin care, beauty combined with skin treatment, and "medical tourism" treatments exclusively for overseas Vietnamese.
At the 108 Central Military Hospital, the hospital's leaders also said that the hospital's development orientation in the coming time is to continuously promote training, enhance research cooperation, and study to improve qualifications with more than 40 countries and many international organizations to absorb experience, techniques, and medical quintessence in the world.
Accordingly, the achievements of domestic medicine not only bring opportunities to improve the quality of life for patients but also demonstrate the capacity and strong efforts of Vietnamese medicine to integrate with the world.
108 Central Military Hospital strives to become a prestigious and friendly medical examination and treatment address not only for soldiers and people but also for foreigners visiting, living and working in Vietnam.
Graphics: TAN DAT
Vietnam has enough resources and capabilities.
Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Tang Chi Thuong said that more and more international tourists are coming to Vietnam for medical treatment thanks to good service quality and competitive costs.
In addition to investing in facilities, hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City are improving their professional quality, aiming for international standards, so that international insurance companies can sign contracts, creating conditions for foreigners to come for treatment.
Speaking with Tuoi Tre, Dr. Vu Nam - Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality, National Economics University, former Deputy Director of the Tourism Market Department, General Department of Tourism - said that medical tourism and health tourism/wellness tourism are among the types of tourism that are being developed in many countries around the world.
In Vietnam, we have enough resources and capabilities to develop both types of tourism.
Types of health care tourism such as hot spring tourism, spa, meditation, and health care have become very popular, however, medical tourism related to specialized medical examination and treatment still has a lot of room for development in the future.
Firstly, we now have a modern hospital system, many hospitals meet international standards, especially in big cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
Second, Vietnam's medical team is considered to be highly skilled, on par with the level in the region and the world.
Third, in addition to Western medicine, Vietnam also has great potential for medical tourism with traditional medicine and herbal medicine such as acupuncture or the use of herbal medicine in disease treatment.
Finally, the cost of medical treatment in Vietnam is much cheaper than in other countries in the region and in the world.
Vietnam's tourism development strategy to 2030 has also placed special emphasis on developing quality, diverse and differentiated tourism products, prioritizing health-related tourism types such as medical tourism and wellness tourism, in order to take advantage of natural and cultural resources and promote national identity.
Become the leading healthcare center in ASEAN region
In 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee approved the project "Developing the Ho Chi Minh City health system to become an ASEAN regional health care center from now to 2030 and the following years".
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, this is not only a strategic step to improve the quality of medical services but also realizes the goals set out in Resolution No. 31 of the Politburo on the direction and tasks of developing Ho Chi Minh City to 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 the leading healthcare center in the ASEAN region.
The city not only meets the medical needs of domestic people but also attracts international patients, contributing to affirming Vietnam's position on the world medical map.
Great opportunity for tourism industry
According to Dr. Vu Nam, in reality, combining medical tourism with health care is a rapidly growing trend in the tourism industry.
"According to the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), the global wellness tourism industry continues to grow rapidly, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, with an estimated market value of about 850 billion USD by 2025, and is forecast to grow at an average annual rate of about 7-8% in the coming years. Therefore, this is a great opportunity for Vietnam's tourism industry," Dr. Nam emphasized.
What should Vietnam do to stay ahead of the trend?
Doctor examines the health of a Cambodian patient at Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital - Photo: DUYEN PHAN
Dr. Vu Nam - Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality, National Economics University - analyzed that currently, there are a number of tourism models in the world, typically 4 medical tourism models are: cosmetic surgery tourism, appearance care; treatment of serious and dangerous diseases (such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, organ transplants...); medical tourism combined with resort tourism and traditional medicine tourism model associated with health care.
"In the four models mentioned above, except for the model related to cosmetic surgery and appearance care, in the short term we may not be able to compete with countries like Thailand or Korea, but in the remaining three models, we can completely compete fairly with other countries in terms of natural conditions, climate, rich medicinal resources or the skills of Vietnamese doctors," Mr. Nam analyzed.
According to him, Vietnam has many conditions and opportunities to develop medical tourism combined with health care. However, to turn medical tourism and health care into a key product of the industry, there is still much to be done.
First, Vietnam needs a clear strategy for developing healthcare and medical services. In 2023, the Ministry of Health issued a project to develop traditional medical services and products for tourists by 2030.
"However, in my opinion, we need a broader and more comprehensive strategy that covers all the models I have presented above and has a clear development roadmap for each specific model.
To do this, the tourism and health sectors need close cooperation as well as general support and direction from the Government.
Second, we need to have specific plans for destinations, medical facilities or service facilities serving medical and healthcare tourists, on that basis developing specific medical or healthcare tourism products.
Third, the State and businesses need to coordinate more closely in promoting and advertising these tourism products and services, building the brand of Vietnam as a leading destination for medical tourism and healthcare in the region, especially in the fields of medicine or healthcare services in which Vietnam has strengths such as dental services, healthcare using traditional medicine, rehabilitation...", Mr. Nam proposed.
Must have hospitals that reach regional and world standards
According to Mr. Duong Huy Luong - Deputy Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management (Ministry of Health), statistics from many years ago showed that Vietnamese people spend about 2 billion USD each year to go abroad for medical examination and treatment, this number could increase to 3 - 4 billion USD in the near future.
Therefore, the solution groups to aim at becoming the healthcare center of the ASEAN region need to focus on comprehensive promotion on many factors, from training high-quality medical human resources, investing in good infrastructure, developing specialized medical services, medical tourism combining modern medicine and traditional medicine, promoting digital transformation, research, development, innovation, simplifying administrative procedures related to medical examination and treatment activities, competitive medical costs...
Mr. Luong also said that the Government is encouraging public and private hospitals to develop into specialized medical centers, including hospitals that reach regional and world standards.
The Ministry of Health has developed a project "High-quality medical examination and treatment to attract foreigners and people with the means to pay for medical examination and treatment in Vietnam".
According to this project, the domestic healthcare system will serve many subjects. It will ensure medical examination and treatment for the people, including the disadvantaged and the poor, while meeting all needs for high-quality and high-tech medical examination and treatment.
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