The UK-Việt Nam Digital Health Transformation conference held on Tuesday, featuring the participation of over 250 delegates from both nations to promote bilateral cooperation in digital transformation and the modernisation of health systems. — VNS Photo Hồng Linh

HCM CITY — A conference on UK-Việt Nam Digital Health Transformation, featuring over 250 delegates from both nations, was held on Tuesday in HCM City as a key activity under the UK–Việt Nam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

The meeting was organised by the UK Embassy in Việt Nam in coordination with audit firm KPMG Co. Ltd.

It was joined by more than 25 UK experts from the UK Department of Health and Social Care, the UK's National Health Service (NHS), Healthcare UK, and other organisations.

Alexandra Smith, British Consul-General in HCM City, stated that the two countries are long-term healthcare partners, with cooperation covering public health surveillance, medical training, clinical research, pharmaceuticals, digital health, and health system strengthening.

She noted that both nations face similar challenges, including aging populations, rising healthcare demand, workforce pressures, and the need to shift from treatment to prevention.

“Digital health transformation is not only about technology, but about people, systems and long-term partnerships. Today’s conference is a valuable opportunity for leading experts from the UK and Việt Nam to learn from one another, share practical experience and lay the foundations for deeper collaboration in the future,” she added.

Nguyễn Lê Phúc, deputy general director of the Administration for science, technology and training under Ministry of Health, said that Việt Nam also has policies related to healthcare IT management, especially medical examination and treatment as well as preventive medicine, medical training, food safety and others.

The ministry currently has three shared database systems: a data collection system to help issue ministry instructions, a health statistics system and an administrative procedure handling system.

By January 2026, the electronic health records on  national identification app VNeID had fully deployed over 34 million citizen records.

Regarding strategies and solutions, Phúc said the sector identifies digital transformation in hospitals as a top priority. This includes implementing electronic medical records and eliminating paper records.

By January 2027, it is expected that hospitals will no longer use paper records and synchronously implement applications to manage medical records. They will deploy national medical identifiers, electronic prescriptions, telemedicine, digital applications, data sharing and cashless hospital fee payment solutions.

The sector also focuses on developing healthcare databases and big data technology.

The sector is building a data development strategy describing national and specialised databases. It will then develop standards and technical descriptions for healthcare fields, while building and standardising big data.

It is also promoting developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the healthcare sector, he said, adding that assessing ethics and legal matters in AI applications is essential.

The sector is researching solutions for medical AI management and the legal frameworks for AI development.

Phúc said that the national digital healthcare sector faces unsynchronised cyber information security, issues with interconnection and a lack of specialists in IT, digital transformation and cybersecurity.

At the conference, experts from the UK shared stories and solutions from their experiences on digital transformation in the healthcare sector to Vietnamese businesses and policymakers.

Allex Elias, director of Technology and information standards under the NHS, highlighted solutions for digital healthcare transformation, such as a common clinical language, a common data structure and building shared services at scale.

The conference also featured an MoU signing ceremony between Vietnamese and UK businesses and organisations to cooperate on the development and application of electronic medical records, scientific research, knowledge exchange and medical training. — VNS