Like any developing nation, Vietnam's healthcare sector faces the immense challenge of hospital overcrowding. Eden Strategy Institute conducted an extensive study in 2011 to evaluate the extent of this problem and determine solutions embedded in the country's economic, political, and social structures.

1. H E A LT H C A R E
Q u a l i t y H e a l t h c a re
A c c e s s Fo r V i et n a m
S O C I A L I N N O VAT I O N P L AY B O O K S E R I E S
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SOCIAL INNOVATION PLAYBOOK SERIES

2. Vietnam’s healthcare system is broad in coverage …
1 MINISTRY OF HEALTH
3 CENTRAL HOSPITALS
10 TEACHING HOSPITALS
34 CENTRAL HOSPITALS
63 PROVINCIAL HOSPITALS
200 PROVINCIAL SPECIALTY HOSPITALS
682 DISTRICT HOSPITALS
11,699 COMMUNE STATIONS
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3. … due to a multi-prong government strategy
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4. 1. Strengthen quality of doctors in rural areas
Health workers Equipment Investment Policies
Equip hospitals with Invest / grants for
Strengthen quality of Regulate healthcare
adequate devices in hospital equipment
doctor in rural areas system
rural areas & infrastructure
M A N D AT O R Y R O TAT I O N of 425 doctors in 85 rural districts under Decision 1816
PREREQUISITE 2-year rural practice for entry to specialist training
INCENTIVE SCHEMES VND 3 mil for doctors to work in remote areas for 2 years
TRAIN the TRAINER program to strengthen quality of doctors in rural areas
MANAGEMENT TRAINING program offered by the Hanoi School of Public Health
TA R G E T 80% of doctors at grassroots commune level by 2015
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5. 2. Equip hospitals with adequate devices in rural areas
Health workers Equipment Investment Policies
Equip hospitals with Invest / grants for
Strengthen quality of Regulate healthcare
adequate devices in hospital equipment
doctor in rural areas system
rural areas & infrastructure
M O H ’s F O C U S last 5 years to equip district hospitals with proper medical devices
M O H ’s TA R G E T focus this year onwards to upgrade / replace X-rays, CTs and Ultrasounds in
Provincial & Central
DECISION 950 to outfit Commune health stations with Ultrasounds for basic checks
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6. 3. Invest / grants for hospital equipment & infrastructure
Health workers Equipment Investment Policies
Equip hospitals with Invest / grants for
Strengthen quality of Regulate healthcare
adequate devices in hospital equipment
doctor in rural areas system
rural areas & infrastructure
MOH has been managing 62 ODA projects (KOICA, Finland, Germany, France, etc.) and over 100
NGO projects for a value of over USD 1 bil
JICA biggest ODA in Vietnam placing USD 1.9 bil. in 2010 in the form of loans, grants and
technical assistance, with about 10% of that going into Healthcare
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7. 4. Regulate healthcare system
Health workers Equipment Investment Policies
Equip hospitals with Invest / grants for
Strengthen quality of Regulate healthcare
adequate devices in hospital equipment
doctor in rural areas system
rural areas & infrastructure
DECISION 1816 Tier 1 Central hospitals oversee monthly progress, share findings ,and consult
medical cases with lower tier hospitals
INSURANCE 50% less reimbursement for skipping referral pathways
PRICING differentiated pricing across hospital tiers
MOH to standardize brands and technical standards of devices in Vietnam
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8. Yet, the Patient Experience suffers from quality inconsistencies
3 to 1 Patient to bed ratio
2 day Waiting for critical surgery
20X More X-ray test in urban than rural hospitals
15-20 year Old medical devices
70% Communes without doctors
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9. … and funding is expected to be cut by 15-20% in coming years
PHARMACEUTICAL Training
ODA Central
IMMUNIZATION
Provincial
NGO HOSPITALS Devices
District
NATIONAL INSURANCE
Commune
BUDGET Facilities
ETC.
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10. Social innovations are needed to break through healthcare constraints
SOCIAL INNOVATIONS IN
Lack of
skills
Local HEALTH WORKFORCE
Challenges
Lack of EQUIPMENT
funding
INVESTMENT
Lack of
quality Lack of
equipment
POLICIES
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11. … and the private sector needs to play an integral role
Strengthen
quality of Equip hospitals
Regulate
doctors in rural with adequate Invest / grants
healthcare
areas devices in rural for hospital
system
areas equipment &
infrastructure
 Partnerships with  Infrastructure planning  Joint Public-Private  Hospital workflow
universities Partnership
 Equipment leasing  Reimbursement &
 Local online support programs  Government grants insurance coverage
 Sponsorships  Equipment maintenance  Corporate sponsorships  e-Health
packages of equipment
 m-Health  International gold
 Facility audits &  Hybrid financing from standards
 Re-skilling accreditation international Socially
Responsible Investor  Generic drugs
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12. Questions to consider
1. How do the industry structure or local market
conditions affect our sources of sustainable
advantage?
2. Where are the rural challenges in this country
that we can help to solve?
3. How can we break through our own
underlying constraints and mental models?
4. What might be some ways we can improve
the quality of healthcare?
5. Can we change our business models or
products to make healthcare more
accessible?
6. Who can we build partnerships with, to bring
down the cost of healthcare?
7. Which are risks and investments that these
could lead to?
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13. Eden Strategy Institute. Asia’s leader in Social Innovation Consulting
What we do. Eden Strategy Institute approaches the global issues of disease, poverty, illiteracy, and exploitation head-on, by
formulating strategies, models, processes, products, and designs that help our clients create, realize, and sustain quantum
profit in addressing these issues. We focus exclusively on empowering business strategies with Social Innovations that create
enduring financial impact, such as Silver Hair Marketing, identifying Bottom-of-Pyramid segments, creating Ethical Supply
Chains, Microfinancing, Energy Efficiency, Socially Responsible Investing, Policy Planning and Advocacy, and so on.
Eden’s Healthcare Practice. Eden has experience spanning the entire healthcare system, from R&D at medical technology
firms, pharmaceutical companies, and biotechnology institutions, to commercialization, manufacturing, downstream
distribution, hospital installation and management. We have an extensive network of contacts with the entire healthcare
ecosystem across Asia-Pacific.
Sustainability in healthcare. Eden brings sustainability to the Healthcare sector by supporting governments with policy and
infrastructure development, helping research institutions go-to-market while protecting and managing their innovation
pipelines, planning the market entry of medtech firms, hospitals, and pharma companies, supporting healthcare education to
raise patient awareness, facilitating the flow of medical tourists, assisting in API manufacturing and vaccine distribution,
assessing treatment efficacy, and working with health insurers and reimbursement systems to improve treatment quality
while reducing costs.
Our philosophy. We believe in the power of ideas to positively shape our world, one client at a time. Our focus is unparalleled
in bringing to bear our entire senior management team, as well as the world’s foremost experts, on our clients’ most pressing
sustainability issues. In turn, we elect to only collaborate with clients who are seriously committed to creating value together.
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14. Thank you
eden strategy institute
Enquiries: Mark Lee, Partner
E: mark@edenstrategyinstitute.com
T: +65 9228 5305
Level 25, North Tower
One Raffles Quay
Singapore 048583
www.edenstrategyinstitute.com