Development of an e-health strategic framework for Vietnam

Vietnam has a population of 91.5 million with 70 % living in rural areas. Much of the population is not well serviced by infrastructure of any form that would support e-health. There is no defined e-health infrastructure or management strategy, however Vietnam does have a number of population health issues that could be somewhat addressed by e-health initiatives as has occurred in so many other similar geographies. The key problem is how to develop and manage a sustainable e-health strategy and implementation framework. A number of significant barriers have been identified including a lack of infrastructure to enable e-health delivery, poor strategy development, a lack of co-ordinated effort towards defined goals, skills shortages in critical areas including health information management, mobile technologies and security and a lack of cultural sensitivity by current research groups and funding. bodies. Breaking down these barriers is critical to any future progress towards an e-health platform. This paper discusses the Vietnamese health environment, the e-health barriers, drivers and opportunities in Vietnam and outlines a framework for future progress towards a time where e-health is an integrated part of the healthcare system.