The agency will also explore advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), big data and cloud computing to maximise the potential of existing databases and enhance the management of social insurance services, thereby improving service for citizens and businesses.

The agency’s Director General Nguyen The Manh announced the plans at the conference titled "Enhancing the effectiveness of providing and using online public services," organised by the National Committee on Digital Transformation on August 31.

The conference chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, chairman of the committee.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, chairman of the National Committee on Digital Transformation, chairs the conference. Photo VGP/Nhat Bac

Manh said the agency was responsible for implementing policies related to social, health and unemployment insurance.

The policies formed two main pillars of the national social security system of the Party and State, reflecting the humanitarian and benevolent nature and aiming to provide the best possible care for public health.

As such, the agency had consistently prioritised digital transformation and the creation of a digital Government to offer more conveniences and services, delivering tangible benefits to the public and businesses more effectively.

The agency had achieved several significant milestones so far, he said.

First, it had gathered information on all individuals participating in social, health and unemployment insurance within its database.

As the lead agency for the national insurance database, the Viet Nam Social Security had verified over 98.2 million demographic records, including approximately 87.9 million people currently benefiting from social, health or unemployment benefits.

The data, which represented 98.2 per cent of the total participants, was integrated with the national population database.

Second, all business processes within the agency were now conducted electronically, with results fully digitised.

Business processes had been extensively restructured to minimise documentation requirements and shorten administrative processing times.

By this year, the number of administrative procedures had been reduced from 115 to 25, a 78 per cent decrease.

The time spent on administrative procedures had been cut by 86 per cent.

The agency currently operated nearly 30 IT systems to manage the processes, with over 20,000 accounts regularly accessing and using the systems.

That allowed citizens to interact with the agency 24 hours per seven days, making transactions faster and more efficient.

Third, all public services were available online, with all eligible services provided as full online services.

Currently, approximately 621,000 organisations, businesses and employers were engaging electronically with the agency through various service portals.

All citizens with a level-2 VneID account could access the agency’s online services.

Around 13,000 healthcare facilities were directly connected to the agency to process health insurance claims for approximately 170 million visits per year.

Viet Nam Social Security’s Director General Nguyen The Manh delivers his speech at the conference

Fourth, all individuals received sickness, maternity, rehabilitation and unemployment benefits via bank accounts.

Additionally, 74 per cent of pensioners and monthly social insurance beneficiaries in urban areas received payments through bank accounts.

Following Government directives and close coordination with the Ministry of Public Security, the proportion of pension and social insurance payments made via personal accounts had increased from under 50 per cent to 74 per cent since July.

Fifth, all healthcare facilities which provide health insurance-based medical examination and treatment services allowed the patients to use chip-based citizen identity cards or the VneID - a digital identity and e-signature application or VssID – the digital social insurance application to register to register for examination and treatment.

The integration with the national population database had streamlined procedures of healthcare services and saved time for both patients and medical staff.

Sixth, the agency was leveraging shared digital platforms for data integration with the Ministry of Health, including health check data, birth certificates and death notices.

The agency planned to collaborate with the health ministry and the Ministry of Public Security to implement electronic health records, electronic health books, referral documents, and follow-up appointment notices on VneID.

Seventh, the agency was implementing comprehensive security measures in line with guidance from the Ministry of Information and Communications and the ministry of Public Security, focusing on early and remote prevention.

The impressive results achieved by the agency in digital transformation and the implementation of full online services confirmed the sector's relentless efforts and the decisive engagement of leadership at all levels, from central to provincial and district levels, he added.

The agency remained committed to adhering strictly to Government directives, the 2024 action plan of the National Committee on Digital Transformation and the tasks outlined in the Project 06 on developing and applying the population data and electronic identification and authentication to serve national digital transformation.

The agency used performance metrics as a measure of effectiveness in digital transformation and the Project 06 implementation, prioritising all resources to accomplish its assigned tasks.

The sector was dedicated to placing citizens and businesses at the centre of service delivery, ensuring that they benefit from the outcomes of the agency's digital transformation.

Effectively implementation

Full-service online public service is an important step forward of the Vietnam Social Security industry to serve the benefit of people and businesses

At the conference, the Ministry of Information and Communications reported that the Viet Nam Social Security was among the agencies that had excelled in providing full-online public services.

The agency currently offered all administrative procedures as full online services, accessible through various platforms, consisting of the agency’s public service portal, the national public service portal, the VssID app and Insurance Value Added Network (IVAN) service providers.

Each year, around 13.5 million electronic transactions were processed, with nearly 100 million individual electronic records.

Patients using health insurance cards could now opt to use the VssID app, VNeID or chip-based ID cards instead of paper insurance cards.

All healthcare facilities had implemented the digital methods, significantly reducing printing costs for insurance cards.

With biometric technology applied through chip-based identity cards, VNeID and VssID, the registration process for health insurance services was completed in just 6-15 seconds, compared to a minimum of 10 minutes previously.

Additionally, the agency had supported the health ministry with data integration for driver's health check-ups, birth certificates and death notices.

That formed a crucial foundation for implementing full-online services, including the renewal and issuance of driving licences and two groups of interconnected administrative procedures: birth registration - permanent residence registration - issuance of health insurance cards for children under six years old; and death registration - deletion of permanent residence registration - support for funeral expenses./.