The 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment: Elevating Vietnam's Healthcare System

After thirteen years of implementation, the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment No. 40/2009/QH12, amended by Law No. 21/2017/QH14, has significantly enhanced Vietnam’s healthcare system.

This legislation has created an essential legal framework that has improved state management in healthcare, elevated the quality of medical services, and introduced Vietnam to modern, world-class medical techniques.

The law has also standardized healthcare activities by setting minimum requirements for professional certifications and operational licenses for healthcare facilities. However, the enactment of this law revealed certain practical issues and imperfections that lacked a legal solution.

To materialize the policies of Vietnam, address existing shortcomings, and respond to newly emerged challenges with the aim of developing and improving healthcare services for the public, Vietnam passed the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment No. 15/2023/QH15 on January 9, 2023.

This law, which will come into effect on January 1, 2024, is set to further democratize healthcare quality, efficiency, development, and international integration.

Principles of 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment

The 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment is grounded in the following key tenets:
(i) It ensures the timely and comprehensive institutionalization of Vietnam’s strategies on strengthening health protection, care, and promotion for the people in new contexts.
(ii) It positions patients at the center of all healthcare services, focusing on enhancing access to high-quality medical services that align with international practices.
(iii) It persists with the policy of socializing and diversifying medical services with active participation from professional associations, practitioners, and patients, assuring fairness among both state and private healthcare institutions.
(iv) It innovates mechanisms that secure patient rights associated with the responsibilities of healthcare practitioners and institutions, alongside the rights of these practitioners and institutions linked with the responsibilities of patients and their families.
(v) It concentrates on expediting administrative reforms and employing information technology in healthcare practices.
(vi) It ensures constitutional legality, uniformity, coherence, feasibility, and alignment with international legal standards on healthcare, including gender equality considerations.

Notable Features of the 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment

Improving Professional Skills and Strengthening Practitioner Management

The Law on Medical Examination and Treatment aims to bolster the management of service quality provided by healthcare practitioners by:
(1) Expanding the spectrum of practitioners by shifting from granting licenses based on educational qualifications to professional titles.
(2) Enhancing and standardizing the skills of practitioners. This includes changing the licensing method from evaluation based on documentation to requiring a competency assessment before issuing a license. Traditional healers and those with family medicinal practices are still granted licenses based on their submitted documentation.
(3) Establishing a five-year validity for practicing licenses and mandating continual medical education as a prerequisite for renewal.
(4) Requiring foreign practitioners who provide long-term care in Vietnam to proficiently use the Vietnamese language during consultations, with exceptions for expert exchanges, technical transfers, and training.

Enhancing Service Quality and Access to Healthcare for the Population

The 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment introduces mandatory annual self-assessments of healthcare quality by institutions based on standards set by the Ministry of Health. It also demands the use of information technology to link medical records across institutions, enhancing convenience for patients and facilitating the management of practitioners’ activities.

Some of the new stipulations include:

Transitioning from four levels of specialization to three levels of professional expertise.
Allowing private clinics in socio-economically disadvantaged regions to organize patient beds for observation and treatment, not exceeding 72 hours.
Developing telemedicine services to improve the accessibility of quality and cost-effective healthcare services everywhere and at all times, especially for non-severe, chronic conditions requiring long-term care.

Innovating Regulatory Conditions for Medical Activities

The law specifies state policies for training healthcare personnel, including encouraging students to pursue fields such as psychiatry and emergency resuscitation and providing complete tuition and living cost support for those studying these specialties at state health institutions.

Furthermore, the 2023 Law adds financial regulations, asserting state guarantees for operational costs of state healthcare facilities. It also outlines forms of resource mobilization for healthcare infrastructure investment, equipment leasing, and pharmaceutical services, ensuring that prices for medical services at state facilities are accurately calculated and sustainable.

Effective Date of the 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment

The 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment becomes effective on January 1, 2024, with certain provisions implemented at later dates to allow a gradual transition, such as:

The National Medical Council’s tasks to evaluate the professional competence of healthcare practitioners beginning from January 1, 2027, for doctors, and subsequent years for other medical professionals.
Language proficiency requirements for foreign nationals starting from January 1, 2032.
Applying IT infrastructure conditions from January 1, 2027, for new permit applications, and no later than January 1, 2029

How Healthcare Lawyers Could Assist Clients in Vietnam?

The healthcare lawyers have expertise in the regulations governing the healthcare industry, medical institutions, practitioners’ rights and obligations, patient care standards, public health policies, and administrative law.

They are equipped to address legal issues related to medical licensing, compliance with healthcare regulations, and institutional accreditation within the healthcare system. Their practice might also extend to areas such as medical ethics, telemedicine, healthcare technology, and the protection of patient data privacy.

ANT Lawyers, law firm in Vietnam

We help clients overcome cultural barriers and achieve their strategic and financial outcomes, while ensuring the best interest rate protection, risk mitigation and regulatory compliance. ANT lawyers has lawyers in Ho Chi Minh city, Hanoi, and Danang, and will help customers in doing business in Vietnam.