VietNamNet Bridge - Each year about 40,000 Vietnam go to Singapore, China, Thailand, the United States, and France for medical treatment. They spend more than $1 billion for medical services abroad, according to incomplete statistics of the health sector.



The reason, according to officials of hospitals at a conference held on January 26 in Ho Chi Minh City, is the poor quality of health care in Vietnam.

Dr. Nguyen Thy Hung, Director of the Nguyen Tri Phuong Hospital in HCM City, said the Vietnamese people go abroad for medical treatments are the rich. These people expect to get good service but local hospitals can not satisfy.

"We must look at the fact that the conditions of hospitals in Vietnam are still very much lacking. Professionalism is very poor. The qualification of doctors, if it is divided, there are only 20% rated as good, 60% average, and 20% very weak, "Hung said.
 
According to Hung, patients only believe in the hospitals with famous brands and the hospitals in big cities, where have many good doctors. Therefore, the investment in medical human resources must be further promoted to attract patients.
 
Dr. Tran Hai Yen, deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh City Eye Hospital admitted that the best doctors in Vietnam are concentrated in a number of public hospitals in big cities. Local hospitals, though have modern equipment, still miss patients because of lacking good doctors.
 
According to Ass. Prof. - Dr. Le Hanh, Chairman of the HCM City Cosmetic Surgery Association, many patients go abroad in the belief that aesthetic services in foreign countries are better than in Vietnam. It is because they cannot only use the plastic surgery but also go abroad for travel.
 
Dr. Tran Quy Tuong, Deputy Director of Medical Management offered eight solutions to improve the quality of hospitals and attract patients to stay in Vietnam for treatment and to implement the policy of collecting sufficient hospital fees from normal patients.
 
Prof. Dr. Nguyen Viet Tien, Vice Minister of Health said that Vietnam has a lot of good doctors and many hospitals of quality quality and good service. However, due to incomplete information and communication and inadequate policy, domestic hospitals cannot win the patient’s trust.
 
Besides the subjective and objective disadvantages of the health care facilities in the country, according to doctors, patients do not trust local hospitals because of their fondness of foreign thinking.
 
The participants cited many examples in which the patients suffered from very simple diseases but they still went abroad for treatment. But finally, they still had to return home for re-examination and further treatment.
 
Compiled by Lan Ha