The information was announced by Associate Professor, Dr. Luong Ngoc Khue, Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management (Ministry of Health) at the Conference to disseminate Decree 96 of the Government detailing a number of provisions of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment (amended), on April 9.

Medical professional exam to be held soon

According to Mr. Khue, Vietnam currently has nearly 1,500 public hospitals, about 11,500 medical stations, more than 300 private hospitals, nearly 70,000 private clinics, and nearly half a million medical practitioners.

This leader said that one of the innovations of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment (amended) is that the National Medical Council will implement a roadmap to examine and evaluate the capacity to practice medical examination and treatment.

Accordingly, starting from 2027, this assessment will apply to the title of doctor. For the titles of physician, nurse, midwife, medical technician, it will be implemented from 2028. With 3 new professional titles including: clinical nutritionist, outpatient emergency worker, clinical psychologist participating in the assessment of professional capacity from 2029.

Organizing professional examinations as a basis for granting practice licenses has long been applied by many countries, including Laos and Cambodia, while Vietnam has not yet organized it. Our country is also considered one of the three countries with the simplest conditions for granting practice licenses in the Southeast Asian region.

Vietnam currently has nearly half a million people practicing medicine. (Illustration: Pham Hai)

Mr. Khue said that the degrees of doctors from other countries coming to our country will be granted if they meet the requirements. However, in the ASEAN region or other countries, the "integration of medical degrees" in Vietnam is still limited. "ASEAN countries do not grant practice certificates to doctors in Vietnam because our country does not have a national exam in international integration, " Mr. Khue said.

Vietnam currently has many medical training systems, both public and private. “There are good training facilities but there are also limited facilities, so we need a national exam to have a common quality, to ensure patient safety, and to integrate internationally,” said Mr. Khue.

Another issue that many people have asked about is the practice time of medical practitioners. The leader of the Medical Examination and Treatment Management Department said that according to regulations, doctors are allowed to practice in the public and private sectors but cannot work at the same time, in one hour at two locations. Or if they work at two locations far apart, the travel time between the two locations must be calculated.

For example, a doctor during office hours (from 8am to 5pm) registers to work at facility A in Hanoi, and the second facility in Hai Phong, about 2 hours away by car (nearly 120km), cannot register to practice during the 5pm to 7pm time frame.

"In fact, many hospitals have recently sent us reports and discovered that there are doctors who work at 2-4 locations at the same time, and some even work in Ca Mau but state that they are working at a unit under the Ministry of Health. We have to send a request for review," Mr. Khue shared information at the conference.

Urgently complete hospital technical professional ranking

The Vietnamese healthcare system model has long been classified according to administrative levels (central, provincial, district, commune). In the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment (amended) and Decree 96, the technical expertise of medical examination and treatment facilities is classified into 3 levels: initial, basic, and specialized.

"This ranking is based on professional capacity, technical support capacity, practical training capacity and scientific research capacity," said Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan.

Deputy Minister Tran Van Thuan requested to complete the ranking of technical expertise of hospitals nationwide in 2024. (Photo: Vo Thu)

Mr. Thuan requested that medical examination and treatment facilities and health departments carefully study and promptly implement detailed regulations, create favorable conditions for businesses to participate in private medical activities, and urgently plan to deploy technical and professional classification to complete before January 1, 2025.

According to the assessment of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Management, the specialized level may not only be hospitals under the Ministry of Health but current provincial hospitals can also be classified at this level.

According to the authority, the Ministry of Health assigns technical expertise to hospitals under the Ministry of Health; the specialized health agency under the provincial People's Committee assigns technical expertise to hospitals under its management and private hospitals licensed to operate by the Ministry of Health, except for hospitals under the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Public Security.

(Source: Vietnamnet)

Link: https://vietnamnet.vn/bo-y-te-co-bac-si-cung-mot-gio-lam-viec-o-4-noi-2268747.html

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