Australian digital health companies are being encouraged to target Vietnam for opportunities spanning electronic medical records, health data interoperability, AI diagnostics, cybersecurity and telehealth as the South-East Asia country pushes ahead with the digitisation of its health system.
Following the announcement of a new digital economy agreement signed between Vietnam and Australia earlier this month, an Austrade spokesperson told Pulse+IT that opportunities for Australian digital health and health technology companies included supporting the development of national health data standards and big data repositories to improve information sharing across Vietnam’s healthcare sector.
The agency has also identified strong demand for more advanced AI-assisted diagnostics and clinical decision support, including Software as a Medical Device (SaMD) capable of automated imaging analysis and providing real-time support to clinicians.
According to Austrade, international technology has already been used in Vietnamese pilots involving AI-powered tuberculosis and liver cancer screening, with some technology able to double detection rates and identify lesions as small as 5mm.
The opportunities closely align with areas Austrade has identified as strengths of Australia’s digital health sector in its Digital and Connected Health in Australia Industry Capability Report, published last year.
The report forecasts the Australian digital health market will grow from A$12b in 2024 to A$45b by 2033. It also identifies a rapidly expanding ecosystem of more than 1,000 digital and connected health companies.
Clinical decision support accounts for 19 per cent of Australian digital health company activity, according to the report, while 22 per cent of digital health products and services use AI as their primary technology.
Austrade points to Australian capabilities ranging from radiology assessment and clinical decision support to remote patient monitoring, telehealth, cloud-based data analytics and interoperable health IT systems.
The report also highlights Australian experience with AI medical imaging, including technology capable of analysing chest X-rays and head CT scans and supporting radiologists by identifying potential findings and prioritising cases for review.
Paperless hospitals
Austrade has identified another major opportunity being Vietnam’s transition to paperless hospitals.
The Vietnamese Government has mandated a transition to electronic medical records, but Austrade said only around 15 per cent of hospitals currently met the standard required to fully eliminate paper records.
The spokesperson said Australian providers could supply EMR technology as well as expertise to support the redesign of hospital governance for a digital-first environment.
Austrade’s industry capability report highlights Australia’s experience with large-scale electronic health record projects, including NSW’s Single Digital Patient Record, which is intended to unify EMR, pathology and patient administration systems across 220 hospitals serving eight million patients.
Interoperability is identified as another potential area of overlap. Australia has adopted a standardised interoperability framework using FHIR, with Austrade highlighting the country’s experience in large-scale health data integration and secure information exchange.
Cybersecurity and remote care
Cybersecurity is also emerging as an opportunity, with healthcare providers in Vietnam needing to meet requirements under the country’s Personal Data Protection Law while responding to ransomware and other cyber threats.
Austrade identified multi-factor authentication, secure cloud monitoring and specialised cybersecurity training for clinical staff among the areas where technology and expertise would be needed.
Telehealth and remote specialist services could provide another market as Vietnam develops a hub-and-spoke model connecting major hospitals with commune health stations, remote communities and islands.
Austrade said potential applications included platforms supporting real-time surgical advice, remote pathology consultations and digital continuing medical education.
Its industry capability report highlights Australian experience in telehealth, remote monitoring, telerehabilitation and assisted telemedicine – including platforms designed to scale from individual clinics to public health networks and provide care to remote and underserved populations.
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