HCMCity (VNA) – The public-privatepartnership (PPP) investment model is seen as an opportunity for hospitals to improvethe quality of their service, thus attracting more patients, experts said onMay 21.
Speaking at a conference on PPP investment for the health sector held in Ho ChiMinh City by the World Bank (WB) in Vietnam, Vice Director of the municipalDepartment of Health Tang Chi Thuong said the investment model will help improvecapacity and professionalism for stronger development in hospitals.
Ramesh Govindaraj, a health expert from the WB, saidthe PPP investment form is popular in the health sector and is expanding acrossmany countries worldwide, especially in infrastructure development and medicalequipment supply.
Vietnam has 73 PPP projects in the health sector, but only 15 of which have conductedprefeasibility study reports.
Experts said the implementation of the PPP for thehealth sector in Vietnam in general, and in HCM City in particular, is just atthe level of exploration and not yet a large surge.
They attributed the situation to the lack of clear goals and strategies inimplementing PPP projects and effective coordination among state agencies, aswell as arising problems related to medical workers, service prices, healthinsurance, and medicine.
Nguyen Thanh Nguyen from HCM City Open Universitypointed out several of the obstacles facing the PPP investment form in Vietnam,saying that the State’s regulations related to the form are not clear, makinginvestors hesitant as they are unsure whether their investment is profitable ornot.
As such, it is necessary to develop pilot models and adjust legal regulationsin this field, he stressed. –VNA