Expected spending of about 2,507 billion VND
Recently, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh brought her 4-year-old daughter to Ho Tram Commune Health Station, Ho Chi Minh City for a free health check-up according to local announcements.
Here, the baby was given an abdominal ultrasound, measured height, weight and checked for some basic functions.
“The baby has health insurance, so going for examination doesn't cost much money, but families usually only take their child when they are sick. This is the first time taking my baby for screening like this, I feel very happy” - Ms. Thanh shared.
The all-people free health check-up activity is not only taking place in one location but is continuing to be implemented simultaneously by the Ho Chi Minh City health sector in 168 wards, communes, and special zones.
According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Anh Dung - Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, the universal health check program will be implemented for all residents actually residing in the city, including both permanent and temporary residents, verified through the VNeID electronic identification platform.
Priority groups include the elderly, people with disabilities, poor households, near-poor households, people with meritorious services, people with chronic diseases and people in difficult areas. The program starts from May 2026 with the goal of implementing about 15 million visits per year, ensuring that 100% of people in 168 wards, communes, and special zones are examined at least once a year. All data will be updated into electronic health records for long-term management.
The health sector organizes many forms of examination such as at medical facilities, mobile examinations at schools, businesses, communities and home examinations for the elderly and people with difficulty walking. The examination content is divided by age: Young children are monitored for development and autism screening; students are checked for school diseases, mental health; adults are examined for multiple specialties, basic tests and screening for some cancers in women.
The total estimated cost is about 2,507 billion VND for more than 10.3 million visits, excluding more than 4.5 million official employees who are self-organized by businesses for periodic check-ups. The average spending level is no more than 350,000 VND/person/time.
Many departments and mass organizations focus on promoting universal health check-ups
According to Mr. Vo Khac Thai - Standing Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation, health checks for workers are still difficult due to the specific nature of shift work, frequent overtime, and overtime. Therefore, the Ho Chi Minh City Labor Federation proposes to extend the implementation time to the end of the year, instead of only implementing it during peak periods, to ensure the completion of the plan.
In addition, end-line hospitals as the core to deploy specialized examination and treatment techniques are also mobilized synchronously.
BS.CKII Tran Ngoc Hai - Director of Tu Du Hospital - said that according to the assignment, Tu Du Hospital will be in charge of supporting medical examination and treatment for people in Thanh An island commune - the area furthest from the city center.
Mr. Hai said that the hospital is coordinating with many units to prepare human resources, equipment and facilities to be ready to deploy health check-ups for people in the near future. This time, the examination activities will be more in-depth, including paraclinical tests such as tests to comprehensively assess people's health status according to the guidance of the Ministry of Health.
Through health check-ups, we will detect early cases with high risk or already having medical conditions to coordinate with specialized hospitals to continue diagnosis and treatment" - BS.CKII Tran Ngoc Hai shared.
According to the leader of Tu Du Hospital, all medical examination data will be updated on the electronic health record system for continuous monitoring, avoiding the situation of "examination and then leaving it there". In case of abnormalities, they will be monitored by doctors and transferred when necessary.
A series of hospitals and commune and ward health stations in Ho Chi Minh City also simultaneously deployed announcements of examination schedules for people from May 25. Expanding subjects, helping city residents gradually detect and prevent diseases early, reducing the burden of healthcare for families and society.
