Vietnam is in the top 4 countries with the level of readiness for self-care

The above data is in the report Assessing Vietnam’s readiness for self-careannounced by the Institute of Health Strategy and Policy (Ministry of Health) in collaboration with Opella Vietnam in Hanoi in the last days of 2025. The study was conducted from June to December this year, with field surveys in 4 representative localities including Phu Tho, Bac Ninh, Hue and An Giang.

The results show that Vietnam surpasses 6 other countries in the comparison list including India, Colombia, Mexico, Indonesia, Kenya and UAE. The research team used the Global Healthcare Federation’s standardized toolkit, analyzing based on four key factors. Of these, the legal environment scored the highest (3.26), followed by patient empowerment (3.06) and health policy (3.05). The factor of support from stakeholders reached the lowest level at 2.79 points.

The overall picture shows a positive signal when 9 out of 14 component indices achieved good scores (from 3 to 3.75). The bright spot lies in the self-testing index reaching 3.36 points, reflecting the increasing ease with which people can access and proficiently use health monitoring devices at home. Medical knowledge capacity is also at a good level (3.26 points), helping the community early identify common health problems.

Notably, the relationship between patients and physicians recorded a marked improvement. The medical staff trust index reached 3.03 points, higher than the regional average. In fact, the survey recorded that 73% of medical staff regularly advise and guide patients on self-care measures during treatment.

However, the report also points out “gaps” that need to be overcome. Nearly half of consumers (49%) admit they do not have enough knowledge to proactively take care of themselves. The digital infrastructure serving this goal is still limited, when the ability to access personal health data only reaches 2.69 points and supporting digital tools stop at 2.91 points.

Dr. Nguyen Khanh Phuong, Director of the Institute of Health Strategy and Policy, said that Vietnam has a favorable foundation but there is still much untapped potential. According to Ms. Phuong, the health sector needs to soon integrate electronic health records into the VNeID application, allowing people to look up medical examination and treatment history, tests and prescriptions. Regulatory agencies should also consider applying electronic labels for non-prescription drugs and pilot self-care models in the community.

Sharing the same opinion, Dr. Valentina Becheva, General Director of Opella Vietnam and Cambodia, said that understanding people’s barriers will help build appropriate strategies. Improving self-care capacity not only helps reduce pressure on the hospital system but is also an essential step to strengthen preventive medicine and improve the quality of life of Vietnamese people.