As we enter 2024, Mr. Nguyen The Manh, the Director-General of the VSS, who also heads the Digital Transformation Steering Committee of the sector, evaluates and summarizes the attained results in this field.

Director-General Nguyen The Manh: The Digital Transformation of the VSS Sector – Core Role, Elevating Service Quality for Participants and Beneficiaries of Social, Health Insurance.

Reporter: Identified as a pivotal factor for enhancing operational efficiency and service quality, how did the digital transformation efforts of the VSS sector unfold in 2023?

Director-General Nguyen The Manh:

In 2023, alongside regular tasks and key performance indicators, the digital transformation of the sector continued to progress steadily, especially in the implementation of Decision No. 06/QD-TTg dated January 6, 2022, by the Prime Minister approving the Project for developing population data, identification, and electronic authentication to serve the national digital transformation during the period 2022-2025, with a vision to 2030 (Project 06).

Currently, the VSS maintains the operation of a centralized data center. The entire system of software applications and data is centrally managed and operated at the sector's Data Center.

The VSS operates the sector's ICT system in line with the direction of the e-Government, aiming for a digital government; it integrates and focuses on providing national-level, modern services meeting international standards

The sector has connected with over 13,000 HI-based healthcare facilities nationwide to receive data for the payment of health examination and treatment fees. Additionally, it has engaged with more than 621,000 businesses conducting electronic transactions with the social security agencies through the electronic information portal.

To promote digital transformation and encourage citizens to use digital signatures for administrative procedures in the electronic environment, the VSS is a pioneering agency in deploying remote signing solutions into the System for Information on Health Insurance Appraisal and the VSS Public Service Portal. With remote signing, users do not need traditional USB tokens for digital signatures; instead, they can use smartphones or tablets to digitally sign, allowing for remote signing anytime, anywhere.

Reporter: The theme for the National Digital Transformation in 2023 is "Leveraging digital data to create value," emphasizing the crucial role of digital data. How has the VSS sector implemented and achieved results in this area?

Director-General Nguyen The Manh:

Effectively implementing the Prime Minister's Decision No. 06/QD-TTg dated January 6, 2022 (Project 06), the VSS was the first unit to successfully connect with the National Population Database from the moment it was officially put into operation. By December 2023, the VSS had verified over 95 million demographic information records within the National Population Database managed by the VSS, including approximately 86.6 million individuals currently participating and benefiting from Social, Health, and Unemployment Insurance policies, accounting for 97% of the total participants (excluding the armed forces and military relatives).

The remarkable results in the implementation of Project 06 by the VSS sector have been and continue to bring numerous benefits to the people and workers.

In its role and responsibility assigned by the Government as the unit in charge of the National Insurance Database, the VSS has actively collaborated with relevant ministries and sectors to implement two groups of administrative procedures: Birth registration - permanent residence registration - issuance of Health Insurance cards for children under 6 years old, and Death registration - Removal of permanent residence registration - Support for funeral expenses; as well as various online public services for processing unemployment benefits.

Especially noteworthy is the proactive initiative of the VSS in collaboration with the Health sector, achieving 100% coverage of healthcare facilities (equivalent to 12,851 facilities) nationwide, implementing health services using chip-embedded Citizen Identity Cards. Over 55 million people have used Citizen Identity Cards instead of Health Insurance cards for health check procedures. The application of electronic chip-embedded Citizen Identity Cards for health check procedures brings numerous benefits, not only streamlining the process for cardholders in terms of time and procedures but also enhancing the quality of service for citizens and the efficient management and utilization of the Health Insurance fund by healthcare facilities and social security agencies.

Reporter: What benefits have these results brought to participants and beneficiaries of Social, Health, and Unemployment Insurance policies, Mr. Director-General?

Director-General Nguyen The Manh:

With the perspective of "Making the people and businesses the subject and center of service," all the results and tasks of the VSS sector aim to provide optimal and improved benefits for participants and beneficiaries of various policies. This is also the consistent goal and direction of the sector in its digital transformation efforts.

In the coming time, the VSS will continue to implement other tasks in comprehensive digital transformation, prioritizing the rollout of various online public services

In the coming time, the VSS will continue to implement other tasks in comprehensive digital transformation, prioritizing the rollout of various online public services to allow citizens, workers, and businesses to perform Social, Health, and Unemployment Insurance-related procedures anytime and anywhere.

The VSS will further collaborate with the Ministry of Public Security to review, update, and authenticate information of participants and beneficiaries of Social, Health, and Unemployment Insurance policies using the National Population Database. This ensures that 100% of participants are authenticated with the National Population Database, including those newly enrolled in 2024.

Moreover, the VSS will explore the application of new technologies such as Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Cloud computing to manage, analyze, and exploit data. This aims to enhance data-driven management efficiency, support decision-making for leadership at all levels, and contribute to the modern and professional development of the VSS sector for the satisfaction of organizations and individuals, ultimately benefiting the entire society.

Reporter: Thank you very much, Director-General, for your valuable insights!