Vietnam's Hopitals: Inexpensive but not Favoured

Many hospitals in Vietnam are recognized to have good and inexpensive services compared to foreign ones but they can't attract foreigners who are working and living in Vietnam. Early March 2007, Katharina, the daughter of Joachim Gromotka, technical advisor to a health project in Vietnam, had a high temperature. The girl was brought to the SOS Clinic. Doctors said that Katharina had one kind of unclear fever. One week later, her health became worse and her kidney almost didn't work. The family was advised to bring Katharina to Bangkok (Thailand) or Singapore. The family made a midnight phone call to the Vietnam - France Hospital. This hospital diagnosed that the girl might need kidney support machine. However, the hospital doesn't have this service and they also advised the family to transfer Katharina to Thailand or Singapore. Joachim phoned to a hospital in Bangkok and an airplane and doctors from Thailand came to Hanoi to pick up Katharina to Thailand. The girl was admitted to a hospital in Bangkok 30 hours later, on March 15. Within four days in Thailand, Thai doctors made tests and confirmed that Katharina didn't need a kidney support machine. The girl caught one kind of dengue fever and Thai doctors didn't find out the connection between the fever and kidney failure. The hospital sent Katharina's family a report, which says that her kidney might get bacterial contamination. Mr Joachim Gromotka knew that the Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi has kidney support machines but he said that he didn't believe in the way those modern equipment was used at the hospital. Doctor Nguyen Cao Luan, Head of the Bach Mai Hospital's Kidney Ward, accepted that the filter pipe and the artificial kidney for patients who use this service regularly are used six times and only one time for patients who use high-class service. However, those components are used for the same patient for six times. No policy to lure foreign patients A Japanese patient at the Vietnam - France Hospital said that services here could compare to foreign hospitals. Around 50% of the patients at the hospital's Cardiovascular Ward are foreigners who come from Russia, the US, Ukraine, Bangladesh, the Republic of Korea, Japan, China, Libya, etc. As the operational mechanisms for hospitals are loosened, some domestic hospitals have taken initiative in inviting foreign patients but they seem to not have marketing skills. "Foreign patients mainly come to local hospitals through personal relations or they know about the hospitals themselves. Most hospitals don't have policies to attract foreign patients," said an official from the Ministry of Health. At the Central Eye Hospital in Hanoi, tens of foreign patients used the hospital's eye surgery service within the first two months it used most modern EC5000 CXIII equipment. A foreign visitor said that she could save 50-80% of expenses thanks to the hospital's service. All of those foreigners came to the hospital through recommendations of their friends. "In Singapore, this service costs $2,000 while it is only nearly $300 here," the visitor said. A heart operation in the US costs $30,000 compared to $4,000-$6,000 in Vietnam. Eye and nose plastic services are also very cheap, around $200-400 including seven-day caring service compared to $2,000-4,000 abroad. "The Odonto Stomatology Hospital welcomes patients from many countries, who use our dental services," said Professor Tran Van Truong, former Director of the Hanoi Odonto Stomatology Hospital. However, hospitals don't have methodological strategies yet, said Professor Pham Gia Khai, Director of the National Cardiovascular Institute. Travel firms ignore potential of medical tourism market A manager of Saigon tourist, Nguyen Xuan Thien, said that his company has not offered any healthcare tours for foreign visitors. The company has not conducted any surveys about this markAdidas