Vietnam’s HCMC Seeks to Adopt Cuba’s Family Doctor Model

Health authorities in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City have planned carry out a scheme on piloting Cuba’s family doctor model in some selected districts this year, some said at a conference in the city on January 5.

Addressing the event, Professor Doctor José Armando Aronte Villamarín, a family medicine expert from Cuba, stated that the family doctor model initiated by late Leader Fidel Castro began in 1984. Cuba has so far developed a completely free healthcare system, being capable of producing its own medicines and vaccines and meeting the local needs of community healthcare.

After examining healthcare models at the grassroots level in HCMC, he pointed out that the city's most significant challenge is the shortage of healthcare personnel at the grassroots level.

Another difficulty lies in convincing and attracting private clinics to participate in building the family medicine network, the expert added, noting that there is a need for a shift in perception regarding the “family doctor' model."

Agreeing with such evaluations, Director Tang Chi Thuong of the HCMC Department of Health hoped to receive support from Cuba’s leading health experts in the future. He highlighted the need of creative adjustments tailored to the actual conditions of the city's healthcare system.

Earlier from December 25, 2023 to January 5, 2024, the Cuban team visited the model of the HCMC Center for Disease Control, health facilities in Districts 8, Binh Chanh, Cu Chi, as well as some major hospitals in the city. 

(Tin Tuc)