Vietnam: What are the principles that medical practitioners must adhere to? In what cases can medical practitioners refuse to provide medical care?
What are the principles that medical practitioners must adhere to?
Pursuant to Article 36 of the 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment in Vietnam stipulating as follows:
Registration principles
1. A medical practitioner may register for his/her practice of medicine at different medical establishments provided that his/her working hours at these medical establishments do not overlap.
2. A medical practitioner may hold one or more professional positions listed hereunder on registration with a medical establishment on condition that he/she is required to perform well in his/her assignments:
a) Providing medical services according to his/her practising license;
b) Being in charge of a specialized department;
c) Assuming professional responsibilities at his/her employing medical establishments.
3. A medical practitioner may practice medicine without being required to apply for registration for practice of medicine if:
a) he/she provides emergency care off the premises, except out-of-hospital emergency care;
b) he/she is mobilized and dispatched by the competent body or person to participate in medical examination and treatment activities in response to a natural disaster, calamity, group-A infectious disease or a state of emergency;
c) he/she takes part in humanitarian outreach healthcare campaigns organized at intervals;
d) he/she temporarily provides medical care during the period of transfer of professional and technical expertise in healthcare or technical assistance at another medical establishment;
dd) Other circumstances regulated by the Minister of Health arise.
Thus, a medical practitioner may register for his/her practice of medicine at different medical establishments provided that his/her working hours at these medical establishments do not overlap.
In addition, a medical practitioner may hold one or more professional positions listed hereunder on registration with a medical establishment on condition that he/she is required to perform well in his/her assignments.
Vietnam: What are the principles that medical practitioners must adhere to? In what cases can medical practitioners refuse to provide medical care?
What are the contents of registration for practice of medicine?
Pursuant to Article 37 of the 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment in Vietnam stipulating as follows:
Information required for registration
1. Full name, reference number of the practising license.
2. Professional title or rank of the medical practitioner.
3. Information about the practice location, including name and address of the medical establishment granting registration to the medical practitioner.
4. Working hours and days.
5. The language used by the foreign medical practitioner in the delivery of healthcare. This information is required for those defined in point a and b of clause 2 of Article 21 herein.
Thus, the registration of medical practice is carried out based on the following information:
- Full name, reference number of the practising license.
- Professional title or rank of the medical practitioner.
- Information about the practice location, including name and address of the medical establishment granting registration to the medical practitioner.
- Working hours and days.
- The language used by the foreign medical practitioner in the delivery of healthcare. This information is required for those defined in point a and b of clause 2 Article 21 of the 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment in Vietnam.
In what cases can medical practitioners refuse to provide medical care?
According to the provisions of Article 40 of the 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment in Vietnam stipulating as follows:
Right of refusal to provide medical care
Medical practitioners may refuse to provide medical care in the following cases:
1. If the medical prognosis indicates that a patient’s disease is beyond the competence or scope of practice of the medical practitioner receiving that patient, he/she may refuse to provide medical care, but must refer the patient to another medical practitioner or other suitable medical establishment, and must perform the practice of first aid, emergency care, monitoring, care and treatment of the patient until such referral is completed;
2. Such medical care is in breach of laws or professional ethics;
3. The patient needing medical care or his/her family or relatives commit an act of infringing upon the body, health and life of the medical practitioner on duty, except if that patient suffers from mental illness or other diseases causing impairment of his/her cognition or behavior control;
4. The patient requires the method of medical examination or treatment that is not permitted by regulations on professional and technical expertise in healthcare;
5. The patient, the patient's representative referred to in point a of clause 2 and point a of clause 3 of Article 15 herein fails to comply with the medical practitioner's prescription for the medical diagnosis or therapy after being consulted or encouraged by the medical practitioner despite the fact that such non-compliance is prone to harm the patient's health and life.
Thus, there are 05 cases where medical practitioners may refuse to provide medical care:
- If the medical prognosis indicates that a patient’s disease is beyond the competence or scope of practice of the medical practitioner receiving that patient, he/she may refuse to provide medical care, but must refer the patient to another medical practitioner or other suitable medical establishment, and must perform the practice of first aid, emergency care, monitoring, care and treatment of the patient until such referral is completed;
- Such medical care is in breach of laws or professional ethics;
- The patient needing medical care or his/her family or relatives commit an act of infringing upon the body, health and life of the medical practitioner on duty, except if that patient suffers from mental illness or other diseases causing impairment of his/her cognition or behavior control;
- The patient requires the method of medical examination or treatment that is not permitted by regulations on professional and technical expertise in healthcare;
- The patient, the patient's representative referred to in point a of clause 2 and point a of clause 3 Article 15 of the 2023 Law on Medical Examination and Treatment in Vietnam fails to comply with the medical practitioner's prescription for the medical diagnosis or therapy after being consulted or encouraged by the medical practitioner despite the fact that such non-compliance is prone to harm the patient's health and life.
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