A breakthrough solution for a healthy Vietnam

Resolution N72-NQ/TW dated September 9, 2025 of the Politburo on a number of breakthrough solutions to strengthen the protection, care, and improvement of people's health (Resolution N72) received positive feedback from both the health sector and the whole society.

Medical staff check the amount of medicine for people's treatment at Phuoc Thai commune health station. Photo: Hanh Dung

The Resolution 72’s goals have profound humanistic significance, aiming towards social justice, promoting disease prevention, proactive health care, improving the capacity of the health system, long-term and sustainable development, and building a healthy Vietnam.

A boost for grassroots healthcare system to "transform"

Specialist II Doctor Do Thi Nguyen, Director of Dong Nai Provincial Department of Health, said: “Dong Nai health sector staff are very happy when the Central Government issued Resolution N72. Among the breakthrough policies, I am particularly interested in the content of developing grassroots health. This will be a great motivation for doctors and health workers at the grassroots level to work with peace of mind and dedicate themselves to narrowing the gap in quality of medical examination and treatment between health care levels, thereby building a fair health system, meeting the increasing demand for primary health care of the people”.

According to Resolution N72, in the 2025-2030 period, each year, localities will rotate, transfer, and mobilize at least 1,000 doctors to work for a limited time at commune health stations; supplement permanent doctors at health stations. 100% of commune-level health stations will be invested in terms of facilities, medical equipment, and human resources according to their functions and tasks. By 2027, each commune health station will have at least 4-5 doctors.

Specialist II Doctor Do Thi Nguyen said: To ensure that the grassroots health system plays its role of being closest to the people, understanding the people best, and providing the best primary health care for the people, the leaders of the Department of Health have assigned Thong Nhat General Hospital (one of the two specialized hospitals in Dong Nai province) to provide training support to grassroots healthcare personnel. In addition, Dong Nai Department of Health coordinates with medical universities in training to improve the expertise and skills of grassroots health staff, enabling them to perform basic techniques such as ultrasound, ECG interpretation, patient screening, and appropriate referrals…

Healthcare staff receive special incentives

Another bottleneck removed by Resolution N72 was the issue of income and benefits for medical staff.

Dr. Ho Van Hoai, Director of Vinh Cuu Regional Medical Center, shared: Previously, the salary of newly graduated doctors was the same as that of their peers in other professions, even though doctors had to complete 6 years of tertiary education, plus 12-18 months of practice, while most other professions required only 4 years of study. This was not appropriate and caused great concern among doctors. It is difficult to retain doctors to work long-term in public health facilities, and it is even more difficult to retain them in health facilities in remote, isolated, and disadvantaged areas. Therefore, when Resolution N72 emphasized that it would implement a special benefit policy for the medical profession, everyone was excited.

Particularly, Resolution 72 clearly states that doctors, preventive medicine doctors, and pharmacists have their salaries classified starting from level 2 of their respective professional titles. The preferential incentive allowance are raised to at least 70% for those who regularly and directly work in medical professions at commune health stations and preventive medical facilities; to 100% for those who regularly and directly work in medical professions at commune health stations and preventive medical facilities in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, areas with difficult and especially difficult socio-economic conditions, border areas, islands, and in the fields of psychiatry, forensic medicine, forensic psychiatry, emergency resuscitation, pathology and some other special fields.

Resolution N72 also sets out the goal of comprehensively renewing the style, spirit, and attitude of serving the people and patients of the medical staff. Doctors and medical staff must strive to have deep medical knowledge, good medical skills, good medical ethics, and dedication to their profession, worthy of the trust and honor of society.

Resolution 72 will also improve the working environment, ensure safety, and reduce pressure on medical staff. Priority is given to attracting foreign investment, high-quality intellectuals and experts in the medical field from abroad to invest and work in Vietnam; send excellent students and medical staff for advanced training in countries with strengths, with funding from scholarship programs.

People benefit from the Resolution

Specialist II Doctor Le Thi Phuong Tram, Deputy Director of Dong Nai General Hospital shared: I am very pleased with Resolution 72, from 2026, people will have free periodic health check-ups or screening at least once a year. In reality, many people do not pay attention to periodic health check-ups. Therefore, many patients are not diagnosed early, and by the time they are hospitalized, their diseases are already severe, making treatment difficult, less effective, and more costly, especially in cases of cancer and other chronic diseases. Free periodic health check-ups will be a great motivation for people to pay more attention to their own health and that of their relatives, reduce the burden of disease as well as medical costs, while ensuring social security.

According to Dr. Tram, when commune health stations are properly invested, doctors and medical staff at the grassroots level will have good conditions to perform preventive tasks, health screening for local people and transfer patients to higher levels when needed. Thus, the protection and care of people's health will be synchronized from communal to provincial levels, improving the quality of medical examination and treatment.

As a patient who regularly goes to the hospital for hypertension and diabetes treatment, Nguyen Van Quang (a 73-year-old resident in Tan Trieu ward, Dong Nai province) expressed his joy over the government’s policy that by 2030, he and others will be exempted from basic hospital fees.

Resolution 72 sets the target by 2030, the average height of Vietnamese children and adolescents aged 1-18 will increase by at least 1.5cm; the average life expectancy will reach 75.5 years, of which the number of healthy years will reach at least 68 years. The vaccination coverage rate under the Essential Immunization Program will exceed 95%."

“A few months ago, when I heard that the government would exempt tuition fees for students in public schools, I hoped that one day people would also be exempted from hospital fees when going to see a doctor or receiving medical treatment. Now that is about to come true, helping disadvantaged people like us have more opportunities for long-term treatment,” Quang confided.

Resolution N72 will exempt hospital fees for people, first of all for social policy beneficiaries, the disadvantaged, low-income earners and some other priority beneficiaries within the scope of health insurance benefits according to the roadmap. From 2026, Resolution N72 will increase the payment level from the Health Insurance Fund for disease prevention, diagnosis and early treatment, especially for some diseases and priority groups. This policy aims to reduce the financial burden on people, and is consistent with the adjustment to increase health insurance contributions from 2027.

The state budget and the Health Insurance Fund will cover certain prevention services, chronic disease management, periodic health check-ups and screening examinations as required at the primary and basic healthcare levels, according to the appropriate roadmap.

Dr. Do Thi Nguyen, Director of Dongnai Department of Health emphasized: "To put Resolution N72 into practice at the local level, we need consensus and drastic leadership at all levels to support the health sector in well performing its assigned tasks and improving its operational effectiveness."

By Hanh Dung - Translated by Le Hung, Thu Ha