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DIGITAL BIZ

and Nextrans from South Korea. According When communities put healthcare first health-tech, so that startups can access more
to the startup, it has posted revenue growth and demand safe, fast, and personalized serv- opportunities.
of nearly 100 per cent despite having diffi- ices, health-tech startups like eDoctor, Doctor
culties in providing certain services during Anywhere, and Medici can expand and call Moving ahead
the Covid-19 outbreak. It has cooperated with for investment. Vietnam and its population The number of startups in Vietnam’s health-
some 400 doctors, 500 nurses, and 80 clinics of 100 million is entering a period of “popu- care field remains quite modest, representing
and hospitals around the country to provide lation aging”. Many analysts have said that just under 2 per cent of the more than 4,000
more than 100,000 health check-ups. Mr. its population characteristics and smartphone such startups in Asia, according to BMI. Mr.
Alain Huynh, Co-founder and CEO of eDoctor, use create favorable conditions for it to Hai said the healthcare sector is highly specific,
told VET that Covid-19 accelerated digital become a market of potential for new tech- so it is important to limit errors. “Investing in
transformation in the healthcare field. “We nologies relating to telemedicine services. healthcare requires that any individual or
now have the opportunity to better understand According to the OECD, Southeast Asian business have a methodical investment strategy,
users and their needs, and we can then create people’s spending on healthcare has increased patience, and solid resources to continually
products and services that meet those needs,” dramatically in recent years. Five ASEAN improve and provide a complete service to
he said. “The Ministry of Health (MoH) and countries - Vietnam, the Philippines, Sin- customers,” he added. “Health-tech startups
other agencies need to complete the legal gapore, Thailand, and Indonesia - will see are still in the ‘starting up’ phase, so will grow
corridor, creating a favorable business envi- total spending of $750 billion over the next more in the years to come.”
ronment for startups in the healthcare sector five years. “Digital transformation in the Health-tech startups also face a number
post-pandemic.” medical sector includes the comprehensive of particular challenges, the biggest of which,
Meanwhile, Doctor Anywhere, a Singa- application of information technology, with according to Mr. Huynh, remains a shortage
porean startup offering remote medical a special focus on modern digital technolo- of human resources. “Startups in health-tech
consultations, serves more than a million gies, leading to positive changes in all medical like eDoctor need experts in very specific
users, including some Vietnamese. It has activities,” Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh fields,” he said. “Good doctors are key, as are
raised $27 million in funding, as the pan- Long told the Ehealth Vietnam Summit 2020 experts in public health, health policy, opera-
demic fueled demand for telemedicine serv- held in late 2020. tions, and service management. They must
ices. Doctor Anywhere Vietnam and the Figures from BMI, a leading London-based be capable and have an established position
Post and Telecommunication Insurance JSC economic and financial research and evalua- in society, but convincing such people to coop-
(PTI) signed a strategic cooperation agree- tion organization, show that healthcare spend- erate with a startup can be problematic.”
ment in late 2020 to provide accessible and ing in Vietnam is forecast to reach $22.7 Doctor Anywhere, meanwhile, is investing
convenient healthcare to PTI’s customers. billion this year, with a large market creating in technology, people, infrastructure, and
The insurer will become a key partner pro- opportunities for startups. “Before the out- service expansion. “Calling for capital remains
moting Doctor Anywhere’s brand among a break of Covid-19, Vietnam was one of the a challenge for us,” Mr. Hai acknowledged.
large number of Vietnamese, contributing fastest-growing economies with favorable How to best reach customers is also an
to its target of having 100,000 users in the digitalization conditions,” said Mr. Hai. “The issue. Mr. Ngo Thanh Son, Deputy General
country this year. Mr. Le Ngoc Hai, Man- pandemic allowed us to see the digital advan- Director of medical technology group the
aging Director of Doctor Anywhere Vietnam, tages, in which businesses also need to seize VMED Group, told local media that the most
told VET they had transformed from being the opportunities to select strategies in their difficult matter is changing old habits. “There
a health-tech startup in 2019 to a digital operations that address people’s needs.” are 150 million medical examinations con-
health ecosystem as of the end of 2020, The MoH launched a grassroots healthcare ducted every year in Vietnam, and changing
providing remote medical consultations, information management app, a social network, behavior is extremely difficult.”
e-document systems, and personal medical and an individual healthcare record platform Similarly, Mr. Hai noted that after two
services, among others. “Covid-19 has helped during the Ehealth Vietnam Summit 2020. years in Vietnam’s healthcare market, Doctor
people view healthcare more clearly, and This first social network in the sector aims to Anywhere in particular and health-tech start-
many people have now become accustomed boost links and sharing and support the ups in general still face problems persuading
to using information technology for health- training of more than 500,000 medical staff people to access medical services on their
care purposes.” around the country. “Digital transformation smartphone. “I think it will take a while for
Vietnamese health-tech startup Medici in the medical sector includes the compre- this to change,” he said. %
was one of 13 startups selected to participate hensive applica-
in the Grab Ventures Ignite (GVI) season tion of informa-
one startup acceleration program in 2020. tion technology,
Established in 2019, it has won over a large with a special
number of users in providing online health focus on modern
consultations via video call or chat. “We pro- digital technolo-
vide services to customers in new rural areas gies, leading to a
and urban areas, so that more people have positive change in
the opportunity to enjoy fast, convenient, all medical activi-
and economical services,” Mr. Ngo Duc Anh, ties,” Minister
Co-founder and CEO of Medici, was quoted Long told the
as saying. “Customers are ready to welcome Summit. Accord-
new technologies on mobile platforms and ing to analysts, the
pay more attention to healthcare after Covid- government has
19. This is reflected in the response of the also made efforts
user community as well as businesses to our to demonstrate the
telemedicine and healthcare solution.” importance of

FEBRUARY 2021 | VIETNAM ECONOMIC TIMES | 37