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Assessing Path Dependency in Vietnam’s Healthcare Legal Framework: Exploring Public–Private Collaboration in Ho Chi Minh City during the COVID-19 Crisis

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a nudge for public–private cooperation in healthcare to rapidly cope with limited resource. However, Vietnam’s historical reliance on a public healthcare system, combined with a traditional emphasis on socialization in the Polanyian sense, hindered the swift integration of the private sector. This research investigates path dependency in Vietnam’s public health sector, using theories including path dependency, Karl Polanyi’s double movement with legal analysis method to analyze the interplay of historical decisions, and socialist policies in healthcare. Recognizing these institutional and market governance flaws, a deeper understanding of the role of law becomes vital in crafting strategies for a more resilient and sustainable healthcare system in Vietnam. In this article, Ho Chi Minh City is chosen as a case study due to its notable mix of public–private healthcare facilities and its status as a leading area in infection cases during the third COVID-19 wave. The article suggests that there should be a change in the way public and private sectors work together, one that is more in line with market-driven solutions which requires solid legal framework for cooperation beyond merely mobilizing resources.

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Data Availability

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in the provided link.

Notes

  1. Pursuant to Political Report of the Vietnamese Communist Party Central Committee at Party Congress XII, the Vietnam’s “socialist-oriented market economy” is an economy operating fully and synchronously according to the rules of a market economy while ensuring the socialist orientation suitable to each period of national development. The term is first used in the 1992 Vietnamese Constitution to characterize the new model of economic structure in the era of Doi Moi (Renovation).

  2. In Vietnamese: “1. Về nguyên tắc việc hợp tác giữa bệnh viện Nhà nước và bệnh viện tư nhân:

    - Phải đặt quyền lợi của người bệnh lên trên hết. Vì sự an toàn và hài lòng của người bệnh, mang lại chất lượng phục vụ tốt nhất cho người bệnh.

    - Tự nguyện, bình đẳng và cùng có lợi.

    - Công khai, minh bạch trong cơ chế phối hợp.

    - Đồng thuận chia sẻ trách nhiệm, nguồn lực và năng lực.

    - Hợp tác trong khuôn khổ của pháp luật cho phép.”.

  3. In Vietnamese: “Các bệnh viện tư nhân có nhu cầu phối hợp trong khám bệnh, chữa bệnh với các bệnh viện Nhà nước cần trao đổi, thỏa thuận và làm Đề án thí điểm theo các nội dung liên quan và gửi về Cục Quản lý Khám, chữa bệnh để trình Lãnh đạo Bộ xem xét, phê duyệt.”.

  4. In Vietnamese: “Giám đốc bệnh viện cần năng động, sáng tạo và chủ động hợp tác với các bệnh viện Nhà nước trong khuôn khổ pháp luật cho phép.”.

Abbreviations

LPCID:

2007 Law on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases

PPC:

Pandemic prevention and control

MOH:

Ministry of Health

HCMC DOH:

Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Tran Viet Dung

  2. Vietnamese Journal of Legal Sciences, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Ngo Nguyen Thao Vy

Authors
  1. Tran Viet Dung
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  2. Ngo Nguyen Thao Vy
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by Tran Viet Dung and Ngo Nguyen Thao Vy. The first draft of the manuscript was written by all authors, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Tran Viet Dung.

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Tran Viet Dung and Ngo Nguyen Thao Vy share first authorship.

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Dung, T.V., Vy, N.N.T. Assessing Path Dependency in Vietnam’s Healthcare Legal Framework: Exploring Public–Private Collaboration in Ho Chi Minh City during the COVID-19 Crisis. ABR (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41649-023-00276-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41649-023-00276-z

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