According to the provisions of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023: “Telemedicine is a form of clinical service rendered by application of telecommunication equipment and information technology without direct contact between practitioners and patients”.

Pursuant to the Article 87 of Decree 96/2023/ND-CP dated December 30, 2023 details a number of articles of the law on medical examination and treatment, conditions and procedures for performing remote medical examination and treatment are prescribed as follows:

1/. Conditions for carrying out telehealth:

a) Telehealth must be provided by medical practitioners of any of the health facilities defined in Article 39 of this Decree 96/2023/ND-CP dated December 30, 2023 details a number of articles of the law on medical examination and treatment;

b) The health facility’s scope of professional activities must be appropriate to the telehealth contents;

c) The health facility has adequate medical practitioners according to its scope of telehealth;

d) Technical infrastructure, IT equipment, specialized equipment and IT software programs must be suitable for the type of services to be provided and be capable of transmitting, displaying, processing and storing data in a safe and confidential manner. Data storage and backup periods must comply with regulations of law.

2/. Application for declaration of eligibility to carry out telehealth:

a) An application form for approval of telehealth, which must clearly state the start date of telehealth;

b) A legitimate copy of the operating license of the health facility (not required if such operating license has been shared or published on the healthcare management information system or national healthcare database);

c) List of registered medical practitioners in which their practicing license numbers must be indicated (in case the health facility’s operating license has been shared or published on the healthcare management information system or national healthcare database). If the health facility’s operating license has not yet been shared or published on the healthcare management information system or national healthcare database, a legitimate copy of the practicing license of each medical practitioner who will provide telehealth shall be required.

d) List of telehealth services to be provided;

đ)  Documentary evidence of satisfaction of the conditions set out in Point d Clause 1 of this Article.

3/. Procedures for declaring eligibility to carry out telehealth:

a) The health facility shall send an application package for declaration of eligibility to carry out telehealth as prescribed in clause 2 of this Article to:

• The Ministry of Health of Vietnam, if it is under this Ministry’s management;
• The health authority affiliated to the People’s Committee of province or city where this health facility is located (event if it is a private health facility), except health facilities under management of the Ministry of Health of Vietnam, the Ministry of National Defence of Vietnam or the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam.

b) Upon receipt of the application package for declaration of eligibility to carry out telehealth, the receiving authority shall give a receipt note using the Form No. 02 in Appendix I enclosed herewith to the applicant.

c) Within 10 days from the date specified on the receipt note which is given according to clause 2 of this Article, the receiving authority shall publish information on the health facility that is eligible to carry out telehealth on its website or web portal and on the healthcare management information system.

If the received application is not satisfactory, the receiving authority shall send a written response indicating reasons therefor to the applicant.

Information to be published shall, inter alia, include: name and address of the health facility providing telehealth, and list of telehealth services to be provided.

d) After 10 days from the date specified in the receipt note, if the receiving authority neither sends a document to the health facility on its eligibility to carry out telehealth nor publishes information as prescribed in point c of this clause, the health facility may start providing telehealth.

đ)    During its provision of telehealth, if any changes in the information published as prescribed in clause 2 of this Article occur, the health facility shall repeat procedures for declaring its eligibility to carry out telehealth as prescribed in this clause.

4/. The scope of telehealth shall comply with point a clause 1 Article 80 of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment:

Telehealth occurring between medical practitioners and patients shall be carried out as follows:

a) It shall depend on the scope of practice of the medical practitioner; the remote treatment shall be delivered according to the nomenclature of diseases or medical conditions sanctioned by the Minister of Health;

b) Medical practitioners shall be liable for their clinical diagnosis results, prescription for therapies or remedies and medications.

5/. If a health facility’s scope of telehealth includes the diseases or health conditions which are not included in this list specified in clause 4 of this Article, the health facility must meet the conditions set out in clause 1 of this Article and send an application for permission to pilot telehealth as prescribed in clause 6 of this Article to the authority that has issued the operating license for approval.

5.1 Procedures for approval of pilot provision of telehealth:

a) The health facility that applies for approval of its pilot provision of telehealth shall submit an application which includes the following documents to the authority that has issued its operating license (hereinafter referred to as “licensing authority”):

• An application form which must clearly state the start date of telehealth;
• The operating license of the health facility (not required if such operating license has been shared or published on the healthcare management information system or national healthcare database);
• List of telehealth services to be provided;
• Documentary evidence of satisfaction of the conditions set out in Point d Clause 1 of this Article;
• List of medical practitioners who will engage in pilot provision of telehealth, in which full name and number of practicing license of each medical practitioner must be indicated;
• Other documentary evidences of its satisfaction of conditions.

b) Upon receipt of the application, the licensing authority shall give a receipt note to the applicant.

c) In case the application package is satisfactory, the licensing authority shall carry out an appraisal within 30 days from the date specified in the receipt note. A physical inspection may be conducted at the applicant’s premises if it is deemed necessary.

d) Within 15 days from the date of the appraisal record, the licensing authority shall give a written approval of pilot provision of telehealth, in which the number of cases to be performed must be clearly indicated. If an application is refused, a written response which specifies reasons for refusal shall be given to the applicant.

đ)    If an application package needs to be modified, within 15 working days from the date specified in the receipt note, the licensing authority shall send a written request for modification, which must clearly indicate the documents and/or contents that need to be modified, to the applicant.

e) After receiving the modified application, the licensing authority shall provide a receipt note for the applicant and follow the procedures specified in Point c and Point d co this Clause.

g) In case the modified application package is still unsatisfactory, the licensing authority shall send a written notification to the applicant in accordance with Point dd of this Clause.

h) Within 06 months from the date of the written request for modification given by the licensing authority, the applicant must make requested modifications. If the applicant fails to make requested modifications by the aforementioned deadline, or after 12 months from the day on which the application is submitted for the first time, the modified application package is still unsatisfactory, the submitted application documents will be invalidated.

5.2 Upon the end of the pilot period, the health facility shall send a report on pilot results to the licensing authority for reporting to the Ministry of Health of Vietnam.

6/. Prices of telehealth services, which shall also be applied during pilot period:

a) Prices of medical examination shall be the prices of medical examination services provided by the health facility that carries out telehealth as approved by a competent authority, including the prices of on-demand healthcare services (if any);

b) The price of hospital bed services per day and prices of technical services provided shall be the prices, approved by competent authorities, of the health facility that receives the patient (hereinafter referred to as “receiving health facility”), including the prices of on-demand services (if any);

c) Prices of drugs, medical devices, whole blood and blood products to be used for the patient shall be reasonable costs incurred during provision of the service (if any) as prescribed.

7/. If a patient comes a health facility to receive telehealth provided by another health facility, the receiving health facility shall receive payment of costs of healthcare services from the patient as prescribed in clause 8 of this Article and make payment to the health facility providing telehealth as agreed upon in the contract for provision of telehealth services between these health facilities as prescribed in clause 11 of this Article.

If a patient holds a health insurance card, costs of covered medical services shall be paid by the health insurance fund in accordance with regulations of law on health insurance. The patient shall themself make the prescribed co-payment and payment of other costs and expenses greater than the maximum coverage percentages (if any).

Costs shall not be covered by the health insurance fund in case of pilot provision of telehealth as prescribed in clause 5 of this Article.

The patient that does not hold a valid health insurance care shall themself pay costs of telehealth services according to the prices of healthcare services approved by competent authorities.

8/. If a patient receives telehealth services not through any other health facility, costs of healthcare services shall be paid as agreed upon between the parties.

9/. A contract for provision of telehealth services shall, inter alia, include the following contents:

a) Responsibilities, rights and benefits of the health facility providing telehealth towards the receiving health facility;

b) Technical infrastructure, IT equipment, specialized equipment and IT software programs for ensuring safety and security of information which must be suitable for telehealth services;

c) Data storage and backup which must meet information safety and security requirements as laid down in laws;

d) Costs of telehealth services;

đ)    Costs of healthcare services agreed upon between health facilities.

10/. List of diseases and health conditions subject to telemedicine (enclosed with the Circular No. 30/2023/TT-BYT dated December 30, 2023 of the Minister of Health of Vietnam)

BASED ON REFERENCE TO JIO HEALTH’S OPERATING MODEL, the basic operations are as follows:

a) Telemedicine enable patients to connect with licensed doctors and care providers via video and audio calling technology.

    Patients can use video enabled smartphone or tablet to connect with a doctor: (i) Video consultantion, or (ii) Audio consultation.

    Jio Health recommends using Telemedicine when:

• Most common non-emergency medical conditions over video;
• Here are a few of the conditions that they treat with telemedincine: Allergies & Asthma; Back Pain; Bronchitis; Cardiovascular Disease & High Blood Presure; Cold, Coughs, & Conegestion; Diabetes; Headaches & Migraines; Influenza; Rashes & Skin Conditions; Sinus Infections; Sprains & Bruises; Urinary Tract Infections; Vomiting & Diarrhea.

b) The process of a video consultation includes the following steps:

• Choose a Doctor: Review comprehensive peer-reviewed profiles and select your doctor with confidence.

• Select a Covenient Time: View our doctor’s availability and select a time that works well for you. Most tele-consultations can be adequately completed within 10 minutes.
• Video Consultation: Your doctor initiates a video call with you at the selected time. Make sure to be comfortable in a location with a strong wifi/internet connection and minimal distractions.
• Doctor updates you Medical records: Your doctor will document your medical notes and make them accessible from your Jio Health profile.
• Prescription & Lab Tests: Doctor in Vietnam can only recommend over-the-counter remedies and cannot prescribe medications for video consultations. Doctors may, however, recommend lab tests or in-person exams to further investigate more comples conditions that require more clinical context.
• Follow-up support: Jio Health’s support team is always available to answer questions that you may have.

c) Order Prescription

• Send Jio Health a photo of your prescription.
• Pharmacist will can to confirm you prescription
• Pharmacists will call you to confirm your prescription, provide you with pricing for each item, and coordinate delivery and payment for your order;
• They will provide you with an itemized invoice for your order after you confirm your order with their pharmacist.
• You will not be charged for your order until you confirm your order with their pharmacist. You can pay for your order via cash, credit or debit card upon delivery.
• Prescription delivery within 2 hours.