Vietnam to launch electronic health insurance card in January

Electronic health insurance card integrated with chip that stores information and face recognition technology to identify patients are two major changes to take place from January 2020, local media reported.  

The move is aimed at easing medical care procedures and replace paper health insurance. 

A representative from the Vietnam Social Security said that electronic health insurance card will be made of plastic with the same size of an ATM card.

 Electronic chip tags store insured people’s information, facilitating the process of monitoring and treating as the entire history of the patient is saved on the card.

 Electronic health insurance card allows the patient to be verified with biometric information quickly and accurately which saves patients from showing bunch of papers at hospitals. 

 The card also helps medical examination and treatment facilities save costs, reduce time to receive and manage patients and ease the work of doctors.  

 Besides, the Vietnam Social Security will also cut administrative procedures in the field of health insurance such as changing cards, adjusting information on cards, withdrawing cards, and reducing time for examination and payment procedures to prevent illegal profiteering from insurance funds.

 Currently, Vietnam has 84.5 million people being insured, accounting for 89% of the population. The Vietnam Social Security sets the goal of insuring 95% of the population by 2025.