Vietnam boasts potential to develop medical tourism

The Ministry of Health (MoH) is currently gathering comments on a draft to develop high-quality medical services for 2025-2030, associated with boosting medical tourism.

The draft aims to have at least 15 hospitals nationwide, both public and private, meeting international quality standards by 2030, of which at least five are public hospitals.

In addition, medical facilities participating in the pilot must have an international marketing and communications department, providing information in at least three languages, including Vietnamese, English, Chinese or South Korean.

The draft also sets a target that by 2030, at least five key localities, including Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, Quang Ninh and Khanh Hoa, will deploy a medical tourism model integrating hospitals, hotels, resorts and travel agencies; at the same time, develop high-quality healthcare services that are attractive to foreigners and Vietnamese people with the ability to pay.

According to MoH statistics, each year, about 40,000 Vietnamese people go abroad for medical examination and treatment, with an estimated cost of about $2 billion.

Experts said that the main reason is that the domestic market has not yet met the demand for modern technology and techniques, as well as trust in the health system. Therefore, investing in improving service quality and updating new techniques in diagnosis and treatment is considered a key factor to retain patients.

Dr. Jean-Marcel Guillon, CEO of FV Hospital, who has more than 40 years of international experience, including 25 years in Vietnam, commented that Vietnam's healthcare sector has made great strides with the emergence of many modern hospitals and a team of highly qualified health professionals. The country has all the conditions to develop medical tourism thanks to the quality of service, expertise, reasonable costs, short waiting times and trust from the international community.

“With a modern medical environment and costs equal to only 50 per cent of those of hospitals of the same standard in Southeast Asia, we not only attract international patients but are also a good choice for domestic patients, instead of having to travel to other countries for treatment. We are currently focusing on developing key specialist centres such as oncology, cardiology, obstetrics, orthopaedics, neurosurgery, and refractive surgery,” he shared.

In fact, over the years, FV Hospital has become a familiar destination for many international patients looking for high-quality healthcare services in Vietnam. The hospital regularly receives patients from countries in the Southeast Asia region, or from Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Canada, and the United States.

However, to effectively tap into the potential, according to Dr. Jean-Marcel Guillon, the key issue now is strong support from the government to develop a policy framework, resolve administrative and legal problems, while promoting the national image and strengthening the connection between healthcare and tourism.

According to the MoH, developing medical tourism is a major policy of the Party and state that has been affirmed in many documents such as the 2017 Tourism Law, Resolution 08 of the Politburo on developing tourism into a spearhead economic sector, and the national strategy on protecting, caring for, and improving people's health.

Most recently, the prime minister's Official Dispatch 34 dated April 10 continued to emphasise the need to promote tourism associated with the target of double-digit economic growth.

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