With 121 articles arranged in 12 chapters, the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, which was passed in early 2023 at the second extraordinary session of the 15th National Assembly, has new contents concerning practicing licenses and Vietnamese-language requirement for foreigners practicing in the country.
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| Bach Mai hospital is a state-run hospital that performs several functions and tasks assigned by competent agencies__Photo: Internet |
With the aim of improving and standardizing professional skills of medical practitioners, the Law requires practice licenses to be granted based on professional capacity tests organized by the National Medical Council, instead of being based on assessment of application dossiers under current regulations.
A practice license will be valid for five years; practitioners who apply for extension of their licenses must satisfy additional conditions, including the requirement on updating of medical knowledge.
Worthy of note, it is required that foreigners or overseas Vietnamese who wish to practice medical examination and treatment for a long term in Vietnam must be proficient in Vietnamese, except those who practice in the country under cooperation programs on expert exchange, technology transfer or training.
In addition, in order to increase patients’ access to medical examination and treatment services, the Law changes the organizational system of medical examination and treatment establishments from the current four levels to three.
The Law also provides specific regulations on financial autonomy applicable to state-run medical examination and treatment establishments, affirming that the State will allocate funds for these establishments to perform the functions and tasks assigned by competent state agencies.
The full text of the Law is now available in Official Gazette issues Nos. 17-21 of 2023.- (VLLF)