Foreign doctors must be fluent in Vietnamese, HCMC proposes

A representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health on Wednesday said the requirement for Vietnamese fluency is to minimize difficulties in exchanging information through language barriers regarding health conditions between patients and doctors.

The department has also proposed to increase punishment levels regarding violations of work ethics, for example by permanently revoking work licenses in healthcare.

There have been clinics with foreign elements that violated work ethics lately, following a period of low activity due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The department said it would continue to perform check-ups at these clinics and deal with violations if they arise. Citizens can also report clinics with signs of violations to authorities, it added.

In 2017, the HCMC Health Department publicized a list of 17 Chinese clinics in the city that received several complaints from patients. Patients claimed these clinics "made up diseases" in order to take money from them, and a trip to these clinics could cost around VND50-70 million ($2,028-2,840).