The evaluation shows that the health insurance medical examination and treatment costs in some localities tend to increase significantly, while the rate of timely data integration remains low. Therefore, in the coming period, provincial and city social security offices, along with health departments at all levels need to coordinate more closely and continue to strengthen measures to effectively control the health insurance medical care costs in 2024, ensuring the safety and efficiency of the fund and safeguarding the rights of health insurance participants.

Vietnamese people are more satisfied with public healthcare services compared with previous years, including better quality of public hospitals at grassroots level and healthcare for under six-year old children, acknowledging significant efforts of the health sector.

Positive trends in public service delivery were announced at the 2016 Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index, known as PAPI, released in early April. It assessed experiences and feelings of over 14,000 citizens from 63 provinces and cities with national and sub-national government performance in governance, public administration and public service delivery.

In the area of health sector, people are more satisfied with public health services than they were earlier, and the rate of people taking bribes to access public healthcare services dropped from 43% in 2015 to 39% in 2016.

Despite significant disparities in the assessment of respondents from different localities, their positive response is a good sign for the health sector.

The quality of public health services has always been a hot topic in recent years with many emerging issues such as drug safety, medical accident, attitude and behaviour of medical workers, and monitoring and caring patients, among others.

In 2016, the health sector concentrated efforts on implementing solutions to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment and to renovate the style of service towards the satisfaction of the people. One of the solutions said to be effective is the set of criteria on the quality of Vietnamese hospitals issued by the Ministry of Health, which has become the quality assessment tool for hospitals applied to all medical establishments nationwide.

After applying this set of criteria, a majority of hospitals have made positive changes including better care for patients, improved quality of human resources and working conditions at hospitals, and better spiritual and material life for medical workers, among others.

The improvements to quality of public health services will contribute significantly to the quality of healthcare for the people.

Improving public health service is not only an important task but also a big challenge for Vietnam in the current difficult conditions.

Besides promoting accomplished achievements, the health sector also needs a comprehensive reform on organisation, human resources, and finance to further improve the quality of health services, reach universal health insurance, and renew patient feedback mechanism for better healthcare services and so on.

In addition, all medical workers need to improve professional skills and focus on the aspect of moral qualities to better care for patients.

Cases not entitled to health insurance

Excerpt from Article 23 of Law on Health Insurance, cases not entitled to health insurance include:

• Expenses in cases already covered by the state budget.
• Nursing and convalescence at nursing and convalescent establishments.
• Physical examination.
• Pregnancy testing and diagnosis is not intended for treatment.
• Using assisted reproductive technology, family planning services, abortion, abortion, except in cases where the pregnancy must be terminated due to the medical causes of the fetus or the mother.
• Use beauty services.
• Treatment of strabismus, myopia and refractive errors of the eye. Except for the treatment of strabismus, myopia and refractive errors for children under 6 years old.
• Using alternative medical supplies including prosthetic limbs, artificial eyes, dentures, eyeglasses, hearing aids, mobility aids in medical examination, treatment and rehabilitation.
• Medical examination, treatment and rehabilitation for occupational diseases, occupational accidents and disasters.
• Medical examination and treatment in case of suicide, self-injury. (revoked)
• Medical examination and treatment for addiction to drugs, alcohol or other addictive substances.
• Medical examination and treatment for physical and mental injuries caused by such person's law-breaking acts. (revoked)
• Medical assessment, forensic examination, forensic psychiatric assessment.
• Participate in clinical trials and scientific research.