According to Decree 350/2026/ND-CP, medical staff are entitled to 6 levels of professional preferential allowances, from 30% to 80%, depending on the nature of work, specific level and work area.
The 80% allowance level applies to particularly heavy and dangerous tasks such as emergency resuscitation, anti-poison, pathology, forensic, examination and treatment of mental illness; and prioritizes commune-level health workers, preventive medicine in border areas, islands, ethnic minorities and mountainous areas.
The remaining levels are divided into groups of tasks such as epidemic prevention and control, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, nuclear medicine, medical examination and treatment, rehabilitation, traditional medicine, food safety and population.
The stratification of allowances is necessary because the working conditions in the medical industry are very different. Medical staff are regularly on duty at night and on holidays, facing the risk of infection and emergency pressure; grassroots levels, remote and isolated areas are even more difficult.
While the requirements for service quality are increasing, to retain people, the health sector needs a remuneration regime commensurate with effort, responsibility and occupational risks.
Increasing allowances is not only to support income. It is also a way for the State to recognize the value of medical labor and create more motivation for workers to stick with the profession.
Human resources are a special asset of the medical industry. A doctor, nurse or technician with many years of experience cannot be immediately replaced by a new personnel. Especially in the departments of emergency, resuscitation, testing or specialized departments, experience in handling situations and professional coordination is accumulated over many years. When medical staff leave the public sector or change careers, hospitals not only lose a job position but also lose the resources that have been trained and accumulated experience.
Allowances should be seen as an investment in human resources, especially in heavy, dangerous positions, high-pressure specialties, difficult areas and grassroots levels.
Increasing allowances is necessary, but the resources for implementation must also be fully calculated. If all increased costs are concentrated on medical examination and treatment facilities, especially public hospitals, policies to support workers may unintentionally create more pressure for the units themselves that are balancing many expenses. Allowances need to be placed in a sustainable health financial mechanism, with reasonable participation of the State budget, medical examination and treatment service prices and resources of medical facilities.
A hospital can invest in modern machinery, spacious facilities and advanced equipment. But ultimately, the quality of medical examination and treatment still depends greatly on people. An nurse who has enough time to care for patients will create a different quality. A doctor who is not overloaded for a long time will have more conditions to focus on expertise. A healthcare worker who is better guaranteed in terms of life will have more reasons to stay in the profession.
Increasing allowances does not solve all the difficulties of the medical industry, but it is an important step to retain people. Policies need to go hand in hand with reducing overload, improving the working environment, investing in facilities, completing finances and developing long-term human resources.
