Tran Viet Dung (Ho Chi Minh City University of Law), Vy Ngo (Ho Chi Minh City University of Law), Assessing path dependency in Vietnam's healthcare legal framework: exploring public-private collaboration in Ho Chi Minh City during the COVID-19 crisis, Asian Bioethics Rev. (forthcoming):
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a nudge for public-private cooperation in healthcare to rapidly cope with limited resource. However, Vietnam's historical reliance on a public healthcare system, combined with a traditional emphasis on socialization in the Polanyian sense, hindered the swift integration of the private sector. Recognizing these institutional and market governance flaws, a deeper understanding of the role of law becomes vital in crafting strategies for a more resilient and sustainable healthcare system in Vietnam. In this article, Ho Chi Minh City is chosen as a case study due to its notable mix of public-private healthcare facilities and its status as a leading area in infection cases during the third COVID-19 wave. The article suggests that there should be a change in the way public and private sectors work together, one that is more in line with market-driven solutions which requires solid legal framework for cooperation beyond merely mobilizing resources.