Over the past period, more than 9,000 healthcare workers in Vietnam have resigned, according to the Minister of Health. With the public healthcare workforce accounting for 95% of the sector, retention policies are urgently needed to avoid potential staffing difficulties.

During a Q&A session with the Minister of Health on the afternoon of November 11, many representatives voiced concerns about public sector doctors leaving for private hospitals and the management of medical practice licenses.

Willing to reimburse training costs to switch to private hospitals

Nguyen Thi Yen Nhi, a deputy from Ben Tre Province, highlighted the trend of doctors leaving public sector positions, despite receiving state-funded training, to work in private hospitals. In many cases, doctors are even willing to reimburse their training costs to make the transition.

This trend, she argued, not only affects budget allocations but also disrupts staffing at public healthcare facilities. According to Nhi, some local hospital directors have suggested that such behavior could be considered a violation of medical ethics, warranting the revocation of medical practice licenses under Article 35 of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment.

"What is the Minister's stance on this, and what measures does the Ministry have to mitigate this trend?" Nhi asked.

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan responded that the wave of resignations among healthcare staff, especially in 2022, had been a significant concern. Statistics from that period showed over 9,000 healthcare workers had left their positions.

To retain the healthcare workforce in the wake of COVID-19, various policies and solutions have been implemented by the National Assembly, the Government, the Prime Minister, and local authorities. For example, following the Prime Minister's direction, the Ministry of Health is revising Decree 56/2011, which regulates job-specific allowances for public healthcare staff, along with Decision 73/2011, which provides specific allowances for those working in public health and pandemic response roles. Decision 75/2009, which applies to healthcare staff in rural and remote areas, is also being updated.

Additionally, some localities have evaluated conditions for their healthcare workers and implemented various policies, approved by their local People’s Councils, to attract and retain public healthcare professionals.

"The public healthcare workforce currently makes up 95% of the total healthcare personnel serving the public. This is an essential group, and without good policies to retain them, it will be difficult to meet healthcare needs, especially given the cost of training and developing this workforce," said Minister Dao Hong Lan.

She expressed hope that local governments would prioritize and implement solutions to address this issue.

In his role as chair, National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man suggested that Minister Lan respond to Representative Nhi's question in writing, as it fell outside the scope of the session’s topic.

430,000 licensed healthcare workers to be added to the management system

Nguyen Thi Kim Thuy, a representative from Da Nang, raised concerns about the licensing process for healthcare practitioners. She noted that practitioners can apply for medical licenses in any locality, potentially resulting in individuals obtaining multiple licenses and overseeing multiple clinics across various provinces.

Thuy urged the Minister to ensure that each practitioner has only one license and is authorized to practice at a single medical facility as stipulated by law.

Minister Lan acknowledged that current regulations under the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment and Decree 96/2023 limit each practitioner to only one medical license. She shared that, before 2023, the Ministry of Health had a software system for managing licensed healthcare workers nationwide, covering over 430,000 practitioners out of a total of more than 600,000. However, this system, launched in 2015, was built on a closed infrastructure.

To improve management, the Ministry is currently upgrading the software to interface with local and national online public service systems and national databases. This effort aims to create a cohesive national system that will allow health officials and local leaders to access accurate, centralized information about healthcare practitioners.

Raising a counterpoint, Representative Thuy clarified that her intention was not to challenge the Minister but to highlight the need for an effective licensing management tool. She concurred with the Minister on the importance of improving software compatibility with national databases, emphasizing that it should facilitate real-time data access across all localities.

Digital transformation, she argued, is essential. In addition to developing robust software, she advocated for a regulation requiring all licensing authorities, including the Ministry of Health and health departments in 63 provinces, to upload data to a unified system, with penalties for non-compliance.

Thuy also urged the Government and related ministries to support the Ministry of Health in developing this software, stressing that it would be a valuable management tool.

"I believe that if this system is implemented, the Ministry of Health can also advance efforts to interlink laboratory test results, a goal set by the Prime Minister’s Decision 316/2016, which aims to have a national network of interconnected test results by 2025," said Thuy.

Expressing gratitude to Representative Thuy, Minister Dao Hong Lan noted that "for any significant endeavor, it requires both investment and determination." She reiterated the importance of managing medical licenses and facility permits through an improved software system.

“Frankly, our current system has been operating on limited resources and informal support,” Lan admitted. "Given the volume of data involved in managing this workforce, we recognize the need to invest in a more capable system. This will be a key focus in our work moving forward."

Thu Hang, Tran Thuong, Quang Phong