Quality is always something to be aware of when living in Vietnam. From motorbike helmets to pho noodles, shoddy products can profoundly affect your wellbeing. Now you can add doctors to this list – people are buying and borrowing medical practice certificates, allowing them to administer medical treatment without proper training.

A DTI reporter who was investigating this practice in HCMC, approached a man name Duc who leases medial practice certificates. He told the reporter that he provides all necessary paperwork to open a clinic, albeit at a price:

“The monthly fee for the certificate is VND30 million (USD1,428). If you agree, you need to sign a three-year contract and pay the fee for the six-months in advance."

This practice extends into the heart of HCMC at the Apollo Clinic on Tran Hung Dao Street in District 1 which employs six ‘doctors’:

“They are in charge of giving medical check-up and treatment of different profession to patients, but in reality, all of them had paid for their practice certificates.”

Lack of actual medical knowledge is hurting the clinics patients. A 38 years old man from Long An Province to Apollo and paid VND10 million for an ineffective surgery.

According to Dr. Pham Kim Binh, Deputy Inspector of the HCM City Department of Health, the leasing, buying and borrowing of medial certificates but enforcement of the ban has proved to be futile.

[VietnamNet // Photo via aeu04117]