The Ministry of Health of Vietnam officially emphasized the urgency of transformation for Friendship Hospital to become a model of a comprehensive modern health facility. During a working visit led by Permanent Vice Minister of Health, Vu Manh Ha, on July 8, it was stressed that this hospital holds a strategic role as the forefront of health protection for central government officials.
The Director of Friendship Hospital, Dr. Nguyen The Anh, reported that his institution currently manages a Class I medical facility with a capacity of 785 beds. Given the high demand for services, there is a strategic plan to increase capacity up to 970 beds. During the first six months of this year, the hospital has shown solid performance by performing more than 2,300 surgical procedures and implementing various advanced medical technologies, including cardiovascular interventions and ECMO therapy.
Despite achieving much progress, Vice Minister Vu Manh Ha highlighted several challenges that need immediate attention, such as aging infrastructure, the need for more standardized medical equipment, and health insurance financing mechanisms. He emphasized that service quality must be improved by accelerating digitalization, including the comprehensive implementation of electronic medical records (EMR) as well as the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) for patient diagnosis.
As a strategic forward-looking step, the hospital was asked to strengthen coordination with the Central Health Protection Board to maintain confidentiality and security in medical procedures for officials. In addition, the development of specializations in geriatrics is considered crucial to anticipate population aging trends. The integration of modern and traditional medicine, along with enhancing human resource quality through continuous training, were also key points in the directives.
Concluding the working session, Vu Manh Ha instructed the hospital management to immediately draft a concrete action roadmap. This aims to ensure Friendship Hospital becomes not only a reliable medical service provider, but also an outstanding education and research institution, aligned with the spirit of modernizing public services in the new era.
