Page 96 - Career Development Guidebook

HEALTH
HEALTH

The healthcare industry in Vietnam is a mix of private and public hospitals. The current infrastructure
situation is that public hospitals, which have more than 1000 branches in total, are the main caterers of
Vietnamese people’s health and also key drivers of efficiency and cost escalation. Private hospitals
feature 182 branches, with the most concentration in urban areas.

Current consumer expenditure on health goods and medical services, according to Euromonitor, will stay
at 337 million USD in 2023. This number reflects rather slow growth, partly due to Vietnam’s economic
challenges such as high inflation or low demand in key export markets. After the pandemic, ever greater
emphasis was put on healthcare, and customers were more willing to purchase OTC products and
vitamins to protect their health. As the prevalence of retail online channels increases, physical
pharmacies still remain very important.

A number of challenges remain in Vietnam’s healthcare industry, such as access to healthcare in rural
areas, the quality of healthcare with a lack of standard treatment and equipment, and unnecessary costs
incurred due to long waiting times and multiple visits.

The average salary of doctors and physicians in Vietnam is around 40 million USD per month. Students
have the opportunity to work at hospitals or at medical research institutions, such as Pfizer Vietnam.
Entrance can be through VinUni’s established connections with certain companies through 5in5 and
summer internship programs, the company’s own talent programs, such as the Pfizer Youth Talent
Program, or traditional job openings. Interested non-medical background students can still work for
these institutions in roles such as analytics, marketing, or research and development, although
preliminary medical knowledge is required.

References
1. SalaryExplorer.com. (2023). Doctor / Physician Average Salaries in Vietnam 2023 - The Complete Guide. Link
2. Euromonitor International. (Year). Consumer Health in Vietnam. Link
3. World Health Organization (WHO). (Year). Hospitals in Viet Nam. Link
4. Innovation Lab | Corporate Innovation Facilitator | InnoLab Asia. (Year). HealthTech in Vietnam: Industry Overview, Opportunities, and
Entry Barriers. Link
5. The World Bank. (Year). Rural population (% of total population) - Vietnam. Link

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