Reducing cost of healthcare through innovative technologies in Vietnam
11-Nov-14, Vietnam Investment Review
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are becoming increasingly prevalent throughout the world, especially in developing countries. According to the Global Status Report on Non-communicable Diseases 2010 by the World Health Organization (WHO), out of 57 million deaths every year, 36 million, almost two thirds of global deaths, are attributable to chronic NCDs, mainly cardiovascular diseases, cancers, diabetes and chronic respiratory diseases.
Vietnam is undergoing a rapid transformation in terms of epidemiology, resulting in an increasing number of cases of chronic NCDs. Chronic diseases are a major cause of death in hospitals up and down the country.
To meet the Vietnamese people’s demands for medical treatment, in recent years a number of new hospitals, equipped with modern technology and teams of professional doctors and technicians, have been opened in Vietnam’s large cities.
According to the Ministry of Health, during 2006-2020 the Vietnamese government is expected to spend $1.8 billion on constructing and equipping 57 new hospitals, district clinics and communal healthcare centers, as well as funding disease prevention campaigns and medical check-ups for the poor. In addition, a number of large investors are building private hospitals in order to meet the rising demand.