Nowadays, in the face of frequent epidemics, Vietnamese people have been getting more concerned about health care. Accordingly, several foreign investors have developed the services of specialist medical checks and examinations in Vietnam. However, not all foreign investors deeply understand the Vietnamese laws regarding the establishment of specialist clinics.
Therefore, through this article, BLawyers Vietnam would like to provide you with 04 notes for foreign investors who intend to establish such clinics.
1. Conditions for operating a specialist clinic
To operate a specialist clinic, a foreign investor shall satisfy the following conditions:
- Obtaining an enterprise registration certificate or an investment registration certificate.
- Obtaining an operating license granted by the Minister of Health or the Director of a Department of Health.
2. Conditions for obtaining an operating license of the specialist clinic
In addition to the conditions as stated in Section 1 above, the specialist clinic also needs to meet other requirements as below:
- Adhering to the provisions of the national technical regulations on specialist clinics as promulgated by the Minister of Health.
- Having a sufficient number of practitioners that fulfill its scope of professional practice.
- The head of the specialist clinic shall be a practitioner with a proper professional diploma corresponding to the operational model of the specialist clinic.
- Regarding the facilities:
The specialist clinic needs to meet a minimum area as prescribed by law for each type of function room. When conducting new establishments, foreign investors often rented the available space to make a clinic. To reduce unnecessary disputes, the foreign investor should negotiate with the lessor on the renovation of the leased space in accordance with the design and construction requirements of the specialist clinic.
- Regarding the medical equipment:
Having anti-shock medicine boxes and enough specialized emergency drugs.
- Regarding the personnel:
The person responsible for its technical specialty must meet the following conditions:
- Being a doctor with a practicing certificate in accordance with the specialty registered by the clinic.
- Have at least 36 months of medical examination and treatment in respective specialty.
- Apart from the person responsible for its technical specialty, other people working in the specialist clinic implement medical examination and treatment, they must have a practicing certificate and be assigned to work in accordance with the professional operating scope specified in their practicing certificate.
- Regarding the finances:
According to Vietnam’s Commitments to joining WTO, the medical examination service is a conditional business line requiring foreign investors to have minimum investment capital of USD200,000 for a legal entity having a commercial presence in Vietnam when carrying out this service. According to the Commitments in the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS), Vietnam has had no restriction on foreign investors from performing medical examination services. Thus, if investors have nationality from ASEAN member countries, they are not bound by minimum investment capital regulations.
3. Language used in medical examination and treatment
When implementing medical examination and treatment for Vietnamese, the practitioner of the specialist clinic must be proficient in the Vietnamese language, otherwise, he/she must register his/her using language and have an interpreter.
In addition, foreign investors need to note that the assignment of treatment or prescription of drugs must be written in Vietnamese. In case of not fluent in Vietnamese, the assignment of treatment, and prescription of drugs must be written in the language the practitioner has registered to use and the interpreter must translate it into Vietnamese. The Minister of Health shall designate to examine and recognize the interpreting qualifications in medical examination and treatment.
4. The necessary procedures for the specialist clinic’s establishment?
To be licensed the specialist clinic’s establishment, foreign investors need to follow the following steps:
- Step 1: Foreign investors submit the application to obtain the investment registration certificate.
- Step 2: Foreign investors submit the application to obtain the enterprise registration certificate.
- Step 3: Specialist clinics submit the application to obtain the operating license.
To sum up, although the establishment of specialist clinics in Vietnam has clear regulations, foreign investors should pay attention to the 04 above-mentioned issues before starting on investment and doing business.
For further information, please contact:
Minh Ngo Nhat, Partner, BLawyers
minh.ngo@blawyersvn.com
