The past several years have witnessed a rise in healthtech start-ups in Vietnam. From e-commerce platforms selling healthcare-related products to O2O medical consultancy and management, various innovative healthtech products have been introduced to the market, making customers thrilled and opening up a whole new world of opportunities.
Here are 3 reasons why healthtech is predicted to be among the biggest technology-driven sectors in Vietnam.
HUGE MARKET POTENTIALS FOR HEALTHTECH
Despite the global economic slowdown, Vietnam still maintained a high economic growth rate, reaching 7.02% in 2019, one of the highest rates in the world. More importantly, the size of the middle-income class, the main driver of Vietnam’s consumption, has expanded considerably, accounting for more than 10% of Vietnam’s total population. Besides, as disposable income increases, Vietnamese people become more health-conscious and are willing to spend out-of-pocket money on both health enhancement solutions and medical treatment. With a population of 97 million, Vietnam posed as a lucrative market for all kinds of healthtech products.
Vietnam healthcare expenditure forecast
Source: Austrade (2019)
URGENT DEMAND FOR HEALTHCARE REFORM
Vietnam urgently needs to renovate its healthcare sector. Despite spending about 7.5% of its GDP on healthcare in 2017, Vietnamese people are still far from receiving decent healthcare. On average, patients often have to wait for more than 1 hour in crowded and poorly-equipped waiting rooms at clinics or hospitals just to receive few-minute meetings with doctors. Moreover, the lack of centralized electronic databases caused a discontinuity in patients’ medical records, making it difficult for hospitals across levels and geographical locations to collaborate and share patient information.
Also, traditionally, doctors and hospitals have been the center of the Vietnamese healthcare system with the domination of public hospitals and state-owned facilities. Nevertheless, with the increasing participation of reputable private hospitals and clinics, competition among healthcare providers has become fiercer, forcing them to improve their services to remain profitable. Hence, customers now have greater bargaining power and they demand better care.
To accelerate healthcare reform, healthtech plays a key role in reducing care providers’ administrative work, streamlining patients' and hospitals’ databases, and helping patients to access healthcare services more conveniently.
The challenge of digital health: Being patient-centric
STRONG INVESTMENT IN HEALTHCARE DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
Industry 4.0 has become the latest buzzword in Vietnam, encompassing all aspects of the economy including healthcare. To help the country thrive in this digital era, the Vietnamese government has invested heavily in developing and upgrading the country’s digital infrastructure, raising awareness, and calling for healthtech investment from around the world. Hence, most Vietnamese people eagerly adopt and reap the benefit of these initiatives.
Source: Vnetwork (2019)
In sum, this is a golden chance for healthtech companies and start-ups to enter the Vietnamese market to capture the market share and improve its healthcare system. With more than 64 million Internet users, 62 million social media accounts and 36 million smartphone users, Vietnamese consumers are excited about new digital products, venturing into various websites and mobile applications to explore their preferred products/ services.
References
- World Bank
- The challenge of digital health in Vietnam : Patient centric - Tuan Truong
- Vnetwork.vn
- Digital Health in Vietnam Report
healthtech, healthtech products, healthtech drivers, start-ups, healthcare reform, healthcare system, Vietnam