Overseas health checkup initiatives: perspectives on Vietnam.

Abstract

Objective: To describe Vietnam's occupational health and healthcare systems and evaluate the feasibility of standardized medical examinations for workers, aligned with Japanese practice.

Methods: A narrative review was conducted using official reports, national health statistics, legislative documents and other literature related to Vietnam's healthcare and occupational safety and health (OSH) systems. Feasibility was assessed across governance, workforce, infrastructure, financing, and quality assurance domains.

Results: Vietnam has established a mixed public-private healthcare model with a four-tiered system, expanded social health insurance, and implemented hospital quality management. Occupational health is governed by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids, and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and the Ministry of Health, supported by agencies such as the Vietnam Health Environment Management Agency and the National Institute for Occupational and Environmental Health. The monitoring activities are supplemented by the establishment of provincial Centers of Disease Control in each of Vietnam's 63 provinces. Despite notable strengths, such as the existing preventive medicine infrastructure, significant disparities in implementation remain across sectors and provinces. While preventive medicine physicians receive occupational health training, no formal residency programs for occupational medicine specialists currently exist.

Conclusion: Vietnam's health and OSH system provides a foundation for standardized worker health examinations. Adopting a model similar to Japan could improve early detection of occupational diseases, among both domestic and returning migrant workers. Strict adherence to the privacy measures might allow for the cross-border exchange of medical data between Vietnam and Japan.