A Dialogue Between Policy, International Standards, and Hospital Operational Realities

A special panel discussion at the 2026 Scientific and Technical Conference convened representatives from the Ministry of Health, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, Joint Commission International (JCI), and executive leadership from Medical Saigon Group to discuss the integration of domestic standards and international quality benchmarks.

The event took place following Joint Commission International’s (JCI) official awarding of JCI Enterprise accreditation to Medical Saigon Group, alongside JCI accreditation for four hospitals within the Saigon Eye Hospital Network. This landmark achievement positions Medical Saigon Group and the Saigon Eye Hospital Network as the world’s first specialty eye hospital system to attain JCI Enterprise status—an accreditation level evaluating standardized quality governance across an entire system. Against this backdrop, harmonizing domestic regulations with international benchmarks moves beyond theoretical debate, examined instead through a real-world case study that has successfully navigated this path.

Highlights from the special panel discussion on standardizing hospital quality, featured at the 2026 Scientific and Technical Conference on July 4 in Ho Chi Minh City.

As part of Medical Saigon Group’s 2026 Scientific and Technical Conference, a special panel discussion on hospital quality standardization took place, featuring distinguished speakers: Dr. Ha Anh Duc, MD, PhD, Director General of the Department of Medical Service Administration (Ministry of Health) and Vice President of the National Medical Council; Dr. Huynh Minh Chin, MD, PhD, Specialist II, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health; Mr. Nick Liew, Asia-Pacific International Manager at Joint Commission International (JCI); and Mr. Huynh Le Duc, Group Chief Executive Officer of Medical Saigon Group. The discussion was moderated by Ms. Pham Thi Minh Thu, Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer of Medical Saigon Group.

Each panelist offered a distinct perspective—spanning national policy, local administration, international accreditation, and practical operations. Together, they addressed a central question: how to effectively integrate domestic standards with international quality benchmarks.

Standard Framework: 2,026 Criteria & Three-Level Roadmap

Opening the discussion, Director General Ha Anh Duc stated that after more than a decade of implementation, the 83-Criteria Hospital Quality Framework ‘has successfully fulfilled its mission.’ To meet the demands of deeper international integration, the Ministry of Health has developed an advanced set of hospital quality standards based on three core principles: inheriting effective components of the existing criteria; integrating and adopting international standards such as JCI and ACHS; and remaining closely aligned with the practical conditions of Vietnam’s healthcare system.

Dr. Ha Anh Duc, MD, PhD, Director General of the Department of Medical Service Administration (Ministry of Health), shared insights into the 2026 Hospital Quality Standards Framework, which features 112 standards structured across three tiers: Basic, Advanced, and Excellence.

The new set of standards is categorized into three levels: Basic, Advanced, and Excellence, wherein hospitals attaining the Excellence level will establish a foundation very close to international standards. The Director General noted that the Ministry of Health is slated to promulgate the 2026 Set of Hospital Quality Standards—comprising 112 standards and 2,026 criteria—in July. Importantly, healthcare facilities aiming to join the forthcoming Medical Tourism Development Project will need to meet a minimum of Level 2 (Advanced) under the new framework.

During the discussion, the Director General also expressed his hope that hospitals with international accreditations would actively participate in refining the framework: “I hope JCI-accredited hospitals will benchmark the Vietnamese Standards against JCI to assess their compatibility, identify key differences, and evaluate their practical suitability within Vietnam’s operational context. This will serve as a vital foundation for us to further refine the Standards moving forward.”

“The key determinant is the approach to quality management”

Drawing from experience in evaluating hospital quality in a region home to numerous facilities pioneering the adoption of international standards, Dr. Huynh Minh Chin, MD, PhD, Specialist II, observed that the greatest value of international standards ‘lies not merely in earning accreditation, but in establishing a modern quality management model that can be shared and scaled across the entire healthcare system.’

Dr. Huynh Minh Chin, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, speaking on the implementation of quality standards across city hospitals.

In response to the question regarding the most vital factor among resources, technology, and management approach, the Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health stated that all three are necessary, but “the determining factor is still the quality management methodology.” Furthermore, he added: “Resources can be funded and technology can be equipped; however, if a hospital has not built a uniform quality management system or cultivated a culture of patient safety, compliance, and ongoing improvement, it will be very challenging to sustainably maintain the standards already achieved.”

The JCI Perspective: Value and Challenges of System-Wide Accreditation

Speaking from an accrediting body’s standpoint, Mr. Nick Liew stated that unlike the accreditation of individual facilities, JCI Enterprise “evaluates the entire system at the enterprise level, concentrating on governance capacity, operational structure, and standardized management across all member entities.” In his view, the primary value is helping executive leadership achieve unified oversight across areas including corporate governance, supply chain, and leadership capability, “and particularly guaranteeing consistency in patient safety at all facilities throughout the system.”

Mr. Nick Liew, Asia-Pacific International Manager at Joint Commission International (JCI), sharing insights on the value and challenges of JCI Enterprise system-wide accreditation.

He also frankly identified two prevalent challenges for global healthcare systems: disparities in development levels across hospitals within the same system, and the data integration issue arising from each unit utilizing different IT infrastructure and Electronic Medical Record (EMR) platforms.

“JCI: A Milestone, Not the Destination”

Representing the healthcare operator’s perspective, Mr. Huynh Le Duc, Group Chief Executive Officer of Medical Saigon Group, stated that the greatest barrier to adopting international standards ‘lies not in financial investment, but in leadership commitment and a shared mindset across the entire organization.’

Mr. Huynh Le Duc, Group Chief Executive Officer of Medical Saigon Group, offered the viewpoint of an operational entity: ‘A standard serves as a directional framework, whereas processes are what are actually carried out daily within a hospital.’

“JCI accreditation in itself is not the ultimate goal, but rather a milestone on the ongoing journey of quality development. Upon earning accreditation, a hospital must still relentlessly maintain, improve, and perfect its operations,” he stated, stressing: “A standard serves as a directional framework, whereas processes are what are actually carried out daily within the hospital.”

The discussion offered comprehensive perspectives spanning national policy, local administration, international accreditation, and practical operations—all converging on the shared goal of patient safety.

Looking ahead, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Medical Saigon Group noted that as the Ministry of Health officially issues the new standard framework aligned with international benchmarks, Vietnam will not only elevate the quality of medical care but also build a solid foundation to effectively tap into the growth potential of medical tourism. The Group also expressed its strong commitment to partnering with the Department of Medical Service Administration and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health throughout the implementation and refinement of this new set of standards.

Once the 2026 Hospital Quality Standards Framework is promulgated, the insights shared during this panel will continue to be operationalized in daily practice—where domestic standards and international benchmarks unite toward a single goal: patient safety and healthcare quality.