Regulations on use of languages in the practice of medicine in Vietnam

Regulations on use of languages in the practice of medicine in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 21 of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023, any medical practitioner who is a foreigner or overseas Vietnamese (hereinafter referred to as foreign practitioner) may use other languages rather than Vietnamese to provide medical care to patients if:

(i) these patients and their practitioners use the same language; these patients are proficient in the languages that medical practitioners have registered for use in their practice of medicine;

(ii) these patients are foreigners and are not covered in point a of this clause;

(iii) the humanitarian outreach healthcare campaign organized at intervals; the transfer of professional and technical expertise in healthcare takes place under the cooperation agreement between a medical establishment of Vietnam and a foreign medical establishment.

The usage of languages rather than Vietnamese to provide medical care to patients shall conform to the following regulations:

- When providing medical care as defined in points (ii) and (iii), a language interpreter shall be required;

- Information required for the delivery of healthcare shall be given in the language that the foreign medical practitioner has registered for usage, and be translated into Vietnamese.

Regulations on use of languages in the practice of medicine in Vietnam (Internet image) 

Conditions for an individual’s eligibility to practise medicine in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 19 of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023, any individual shall be permitted to provide medical services in Vietnam when fully meeting the following requirements:

(1) His/her certificate of practice of medicine remains valid;

(2) He/she has obtained registration for practice of medicine, except as prescribed in clause 3 of Article 36 of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023;

(3) He/she satisfies language proficiency requirements in healthcare as set out in Article 21 of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023;

(4) He/she reaches health standards required by the Minister of Health;

(5) He/she is not any of those covered in Article 20 of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023.

- Any individual may practise as a medical practitioner without being required to satisfy the conditions specified in point (1), (2) and (3) of this Section when:

+ he/she is a learner or student studying at a health training institution; a person who is practising as a medical intern before being eligible for a practicing license; a person who is waiting for a practicing license to be conferred and only practice medicine under the supervision of a practitioner;

+ as a village health worker, village midwife or health worker working at a health care agency, unit or organization that is not incorporated as a medical establishment, he/she may only practise medicine within the range of assigned duties and after completing a training course in specialties or professional skills decided by the Minister of Health;

+ he/she is one of the subjects of application of clause 1 of Article 115 of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023;

+ he/she is someone else participating in the process of medical care as instructed by the Government.

- Any foreigner or overseas Vietnamese who has obtained a practicing license issued by a competent foreign agency or organization may organize humanitarian outreach healthcare campaigns at intervals, cooperate in provision of training courses on medicine involving medical internship, or transfer professional techniques in medicine under the provisions of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023, without the encumbrance of the conditions specified in point (1), (2) and (3) of this Section.

- Any person participating in a community-based medical emergency who is not an out-of-hospital paramedic shall not be required to satisfy the conditions specified above.

Mai Thanh Loi

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE