Setting up a medical examination business in Vietnam

Medical examination and treatment business is an essential business for human needs. Many medical examination and treatment companies have been opened. However, to establish companies in this field, certain conditions must be met. So what are the conditions for establishing a medical examination and treatment company? To answer customers’ questions, Viet An Law Firm offers the following article on conditions for setting up a medical examination business in Vietnam.

Types of activities of medical examination and treatment companies

According to Article 39 of Decree 96/2023/ND-CP, medical examination, and treatment facilities are established according to the provisions of law and must follow one of the following organizational forms:

• Hospitals: general hospitals, traditional medicine hospitals, odonto-stomatology hospitals, and specialized hospitals.
• Subclinical service facilities: testing facilities; imaging diagnostic facilities; Testing and imaging facilities.
• Other forms: Clinics; Maternity wards; Traditional medicine diagnostic and treatment centers; Family medicine facilities; Dental technology facilities; Rehabilitation facilities; Clinical psychology facilities; Nursing service facilities; Maternity service facilities; Palliative care facility; Outpatient emergency facilities; Corrective spectacle stores performing refraction tests; Blood purification facility.

Conditions for setting up a medical examination business in Vietnam

Article 40 of Decree 96/2023/ND-CP stipulates the conditions for establishing a medical examination and treatment company as follows:

Scale conditions

Has a scale appropriate to each form of medical examination and treatment facility organization. Accordingly:

• For hospitals: General hospitals must have at least 30 beds; Specialized hospitals and traditional medicine hospitals must have at least 20 beds; Particularly for eye and psychiatric hospitals, there must be at least 10 beds.
• For general clinics: Must have at least 02 of 04 specialties: internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics, and pediatrics; and a paraclinical department (testing and diagnostic imaging).
• For specialized clinics and medical service establishments: Specialized clinics must have a medical examination and treatment room with an area of at least 10 m2 and a place to receive patients (except for health consulting clinics or treatment health consultation through information technology and telecommunications means).

In addition, depending on the specific scope of professional activities, specialized clinics, and medical service facilities will have to meet different area sizes as prescribed.

Facilities conditions

Conditions for facilities that medical clinics must meet include:

• Have a fixed location that meets the provisions of the law on load-bearing safety, fire prevention, and fighting, infection control, environmental protection, and radiation safety (if any); ensure enough electricity and water to serve the operations of medical examination and treatment facilities;
• There are signs, diagrams, and signs leading to faculties, departments, professional and administrative departments;
• In case there are additional facilities that are not on the same campus as the medical examination and treatment facility, the specific conditions for each form of organization of the medical examination and treatment facility must be met.

In addition, depending on the scale and scope of specific professional activities, each type of clinic, hospital, and medical service facility will have to meet other specific physical facility conditions according to regulations determined for each type.

Conditions of medical equipment

In addition to the conditions of scale and facilities, the medical examination and treatment company must meet the conditions of medical equipment including:

• For hospitals: there must be enough emergency vehicles inside and outside the hospital or a contract to provide emergency services to support patient transportation with another service party.
• For clinics and medical service facilities: Have enough medical equipment appropriate to the scope of professional activities of the facility;

In addition, depending on the type of activity and scope of professional activities, clinics, and medical service facilities must meet additional conditions such as:

• Particularly, establishments for examination and treatment of occupational diseases must at least have a biochemical testing department;
• Health consultation clinics through information technology and telecommunications are not required to have appropriate medical equipment or biochemical testing departments. Therefore, it must have adequate facilities for information technology, telecommunications, and equipment by the scope of registered activities.

Personnel conditions

Medical examination and treatment companies need to meet the following personnel conditions:

• Have a practicing certificate appropriate to the scope of professional activities registered for practice and the scope of the medical examination and treatment facility.
• Practitioners at state medical examination and treatment facilities are not allowed to register as the head of a private hospital or medical examination and treatment facility established and operating under the Enterprise Law or the Cooperative Law, except in the case of being appointed by a competent state agency to participate in the management and administration of a medical examination and treatment facility with State capital.
• Each medical examination and treatment facility must have one person responsible for technical expertise; Persons responsible for technical expertise and heads of specialized departments of medical examination and treatment facilities must also meet the requirements for practice certificates, full-time practitioners at the facility, and have had a period of medical practice, cure at least 36

For hospitals, the following additional conditions must be met:

• The number of full-time practitioners in each department must reach at least 50% of the total number of practitioners in the department;
• Heads of specialized departments of the hospital must have a practicing certificate appropriate to that specialty and must be a full-time practitioner at the hospital;
• Heads of other departments not subject to practice certificates must have a university diploma with a major appropriate to the assigned work and must be a full-time practitioner at the hospital.

Established business with a private capital base

In case a medical examination and treatment facility has private capital, to be granted an establishment license, it is required to have a Business Registration Certificate or an Investment Certificate for facilities with foreign private capital. The application for these legal documents is carried out according to the normal company establishment process, however, it should be noted that the registered profession in the company’s legal documents must record the business of related disease examination and treatment. The most popular business lines are Hospital and health station activities (VSIC 8610).

Have a license to establish and operate according to regulations

Pursuant to Article 60 of Decree 96/2023/ND-CP, the application file for an operating license of a medical examination and treatment facility includes:

Note for foreign investors

Based on section 8 of Vietnam’s Schedule of Commitments in the WTO regulating health and social services, it can be seen that when Vietnam joined the WTO, it committed to opening the door for foreign investors to access the market for foreign investors. with Hospital Services (CPC 9311) and Dental and Medical Services (CPC 9312).

Accordingly, to establish a business company of this type, foreign service providers are allowed to provide services by establishing a 100% foreign-invested hospital, joint venture with Vietnamese partners, or through a Business Cooperation Contract.

The minimum investment capital for a hospital is 20 million USD, a general clinic (policlinic) is 2 million USD and a specialized treatment facility is 200 thousand USD.

List of some medical examination and treatment companies in Vietnam

Vinmec International General Hospital

Vinmec International General Hospital is the leading prestigious medical system in Vietnam, providing high-quality medical services. The hospital was established by Vinmec International General Hospital Joint Stock Company, a subsidiary of Vingroup Corporation, established in 2012 with business code 0106050554. Vinmec provides a full range of specialties and medical services from outpatient and inpatient medical examination and treatment to high-end medical services such as imaging diagnosis, testing, cancer treatment, cardiology, obstetrics, and gynecology,… with the main business code is Hospital and health station activities (industry code 8610) and Medical and dental practice activities (industry code 8620).

Dong Do Hospital

The hospital is owned by Dong Do Hospital Joint Stock Company, established in 2010 with tax code 0104371760. The hospital is headquartered in Dong Da District, Hanoi. The main registered industry code is Manufacture of medical and dental, orthopedic, and rehabilitation instruments and supplies (industry code 3250) and Hospital and health station activities (industry code 8610). Established by a team of experienced and dedicated doctors, Dong Do Hospital invests in modern equipment and applies advanced medical techniques, providing customers with a professional medical experience and efficiency.

Thu Cuc International General Hospital

The investor of the Hospital is Thu Cuc Medical & Aesthetics Joint Stock Company, business code 0102624215, established in 2008. The hospital was granted a medical examination and treatment facility operating license No. 26/BYT-GPHD for the first time on February 21, 2017. The hospital provides a full range of medical specialties and services from outpatient medical examination and treatment, to high-end medical services such as imaging diagnosis, testing, internal medicine treatment, surgery, dentistry, aesthetics,… As a pioneer in international cooperation with developed medical systems, the hospital has built the trust of the customers, contributing to reducing the medical burden.

Hong Ngoc Hospital

Established in 2003 by the investor Hong Ngoc Hospital Company Limited (business code 0106699074), Hong Ngoc Hospital was granted a medical examination and treatment facility operating license number 002960/HNO-CCHN in 2012. This is the first private hospital system in the North, equipped with advanced technology and a team of highly specialized doctors with more than 20 years of experience operating in the field of health and beauty care with many international certifications. In Hanoi, the Hospital has established 5 medical examination and treatment facilities in the form of hospitals, specialized clinics, and general clinics.

Company establishment services of Viet An Law

• Consulting on conditions and documents needed to prepare to establish a company;
• Comprehensive consulting on issues when establishing a company and after establishing a company so that businesses can best understand and manage the company, minimizing risks;
• Services after establishing a business: Seal engraving, making signs, buying digital signatures, declaring and registering for electronic tax payment, registering for electronic invoices, opening accounts at banks according to the needs of the business,
• Declare and pay value-added tax, corporate income tax, and personal income tax;
• Comprehensive tax accounting services for businesses after establishment;
• Consulting on conditions, documents, and procedures for applying for a license to establish and operate a medical examination and treatment facility;
• Industrial property representation services to register trademarks and inventions for businesses.
• Consulting on issues related to tax, accounting, labor law, contracts, and other legal issues related to company operations.

Clients considering setting up a medical examination business in Vietnam, please contact Viet An Law Firm for the best support!