Vietnam's young doctors push for smarter medical volunteering to save lives

Dr Đỗ Doãn Bách has called for stronger medical volunteering efforts in Vietnam. Speaking at the fifth National Congress of the Việt Nam Young Doctors' Association, he stressed the need for sustainable, standardised, and digitalised community health programmes. His proposals aim to improve early detection and long-term care for patients across the country.

In 2024, around 10,000 young doctors took part in the Young Doctors Following Uncle Ho's Words, Volunteering for Community Health campaign. Over the course of the initiative, they carried out 150,000 medical procedures nationwide. Bách highlighted the campaign's impact but noted gaps in long-term follow-up and data consistency.

During his work in Đắk Lắk Province, Bách observed the challenges of late-stage disease detection. He saw firsthand how early risk assessment and tailored treatment could make a difference in rural areas. This experience shaped his vision for a more structured approach to medical volunteering.

At the congress, Bách outlined a three-part model for future programmes. The first pillar involves screening, risk assessment, and initial patient management. The second focuses on strengthening ties between local clinics and larger hospitals. The third aims to standardise medical data for Vietnam's national electronic health record system.

He also pointed to a broader issue: the lack of large-scale, standardised cardiovascular disease data in the country. Without a unified national database, treatment outcomes remain inconsistent. Bách argued that better data collection would lead to more effective care.

Bách's proposals seek to transform medical volunteering through standardisation, digital tools, and continuous monitoring. If adopted, these changes could enable earlier disease detection and more reliable follow-up care. The goal is to create a system where community health efforts reach more people with greater precision.