Never had a health check-up in my whole life
In a highland village in Muong Pon commune, Dien Bien province, Ms. Lo Thi H. (67 years old, Thai ethnicity) said that she has never had a general health check-up. In recent years, she has often had headaches, dizziness, and joint pain, but only bought medicine to take sparingly.
“The house is far from the hospital, going down to the center takes a whole day of travel. Each trip is expensive, so only when it hurts too much do I go to the health station to ask for medicine” - Ms. H. said.
Not only Ms. H., many elderly people in the Northwest highlands still maintain the habit of enduring illness. Many cases are detected when the disease has become severe because they have never had regular health check-ups.
Similarly, in many remote and isolated areas in Lai Chau and Son La, the rate of people accessing specialized medical services is still low. The fragmented terrain and difficult traffic make it difficult to organize medical examination and treatment for people in remote and isolated areas. For many poor households, travel costs are even higher than medical examination fees.
Bring the doctor to the deep end.
Talking to PV of Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Pham Giang Nam - Director of Dien Bien Department of Health - said that immediately after receiving the Prime Minister's direction on deploying free health check-ups for the whole population in 2026, the Department of Health has developed an implementation plan based on the guidance of the Ministry of Health.
According to Mr. Nam, in fact, Dien Bien has implemented free health check-ups and consultations for people since April 25, 2026 and maintained regularly every month, at least 2 days/month.
In the immediate future, we prioritize vulnerable groups such as the elderly aged 60 and over, poor households, near-poor households, people with meritorious services to the revolution, people with disabilities and people who have not participated in health insurance" - Mr. Nam said.
The content of the free health check includes clinical examination, ultrasound, electrocardiogram, health conclusion, nutritional counseling and health care counseling. In truly necessary cases, doctors will prescribe additional techniques such as tests or chest and lung X-rays.
According to leaders of Dien Bien Department of Health, for communes and wards near medical centers or hospitals, people will be organized for examinations at the medical examination department of the medical unit. For communes in remote areas, areas with difficult travel, the health sector will establish mobile examination teams to go directly to health stations, schools or village cultural houses to serve people.
Our point of view is not to let people miss the opportunity to have health check-ups because of travel difficulties" - Mr. Nam emphasized.
Expecting a change in healthcare awareness
Recorded in the mountainous provinces of Lang Son, Cao Bang, Lao Cai, periodic health check-ups for people have not become a common habit for many years. Many people only go to medical facilities when their illness is severe, leading to high treatment costs and a high risk of complications.
According to grassroots health officials, organizing widespread free health check-ups not only helps detect diseases early but also contributes to changing people's awareness of proactive health care.
A health official in Mu Cang Chai (Lao Cai) said that through recent mobile examinations, many people have first detected blood pressure, cardiovascular disease or diabetes even though they previously thought they were healthy.
Some people have not had their blood pressure measured for decades. When the doctor announced dangerous high blood pressure, they were startled" - this doctor shared.
Therefore, the implementation of universal free health check-ups is expected to help narrow the gap in access to health services between favorable and difficult areas.
This policy also opens up opportunities for poor people and people in remote areas to have their health checked and cared for in a fully and methodical manner.
