Is there medical care in Vietnam for tourists – What happens when you run into an emergency whilst travelling in the land of the ascending dragon?
Vietnam has an immense number of both public and private hospitals. It does not come in as a surprise that several tourists fly to Vietnam for medical purposes.
Treatments span the full range of medical services, with the most common choices of services including dental care, cosmetic surgery, cardiology intervention and fertility treatment. Some of them come for nursing home services.
Vietnam remains the more affordable compared to Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan, yet offering high quality medical services.
According to the Health Ministry’s Medical Services Administration, Dentistry costs in Vietnam are three to ten times lower than in other Asian countries.
Ho Chi Minh in particular has grown to be a medical tourism destination of Vietnam. The city has fast-growing health services and medical advancements.
Is there medical care in Vietnam for tourists?
Based on the local authorities, the city has accounted for 40% foreign patients.
The health department has rolled out a mobile app that provides information about health facilities in the city way back in 2019 and its English version was then released in 2020.
Travel companies have also partnered with hospitals to organize medical tours placing heavy emphasis on the low cost and good quality of these hospitals, which is enticing to tourists.
In the government’s attempt to ensure a quality medical tourism of the country, it has set a strict standard on medical practices while listing all the medical units (hospitals and clinics) qualified for the handling of international guests.
In order to maintain foreign patients’ interest, it is important for all hospitals to invest in better infrastructure and skilled human resources.
Hospitals in Vietnam are divided into public and private hospitals. Most Vietnam public hospitals do not meet the international standards with lack of services and equipment and are often overcrowded.
Doctors and medical staff working at public hospitals will generally only speak Vietnamese. However, prices of treatments and health consultations in public hospitals are more reasonable.
On the other hand, the standard of private hospitals in Vietnam is excellent. They are staffed with English or French speaking medical doctors or foreign doctors from the USA, France, Japan, South Korea and a whole lot more, so there is no need to worry about the language barrier and their facilities and equipment are more modern and adequate than the other.
