VSS cooperates with French partner in promoting public health care

At the signing ceremony of the MoU (Photo: VSS)

Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Social Security (VSS) and the France-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry () has signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) on strategic cooperation in optimising the medical and
pharmaceutical systems to care for people’s health.

According to French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet, the
French Embassy in Vietnam has cooperated with VSS in the fields of health
care and pharmacy since 2018.

In 2019, the French Pharmaceutical Companies Association
(Leem) signed an agreement with VSS in the pharmaceutical area, he noted, affirming
that the newly-signed MoU is the continuance of the sound cooperation between
the two sides.

VSS Deputy General Director Nguyen Duc Hoa said that
currently, about 18.26 million people have joined social insurance, accounting
for 39.25% of the country’s workforce, along with about 14.7 million people joining
unemployment insurance and over 93.3 million people covered by health
insurance, or 93.35% of the country’s population.

However, Hoa pointed out a number of difficulties that VSS is facing in ensuring
that people covered by health insurance access medicine, medical equipment and
services with high quality, as well as challenges in managing spending of the health
insurance fund on drugs, medical supplies, and medical technical services.

He underlined that the MoU is not only a commitment to public health but a shared
effort of the two sides in providing high-quality medical services for people of the two countries, contributing to promoting -France relations.

Under the MoU, the two sides will share information and experience on measures
to increase income sources for the health insurance fund and the implementation of
supplementary health insurance packages, while supporting each other in enhancing
capacity in medical technology assessment serving the building of a list of
drugs, medical supplies, and technical services covered by the health insurance
fund.

Meanwhile, the two sides will also work together in communications to raise
awareness of the community and medical staff about safe, reasonable and effective
use of drugs, ensuring the effective use of the health insurance fund and patients’ rights, and optimising resources for the improvement of healthcare services./.