Nguyen Tan Chi Thu, an office worker, completed her annual health check-up organized by her company in mid-August. Recently, however, her neighborhood group and ward officials have repeatedly urged her to participate in the free public health check-up program. She wonders if she needs to undergo another examination.

"Will health check-ups at the company be updated to the electronic portal, or do I need to bring the results to the ward for recording, or must I be re-examined completely?", she asked. She added that ward officials have not provided specific guidance, while her neighborhood group frequently reminds her to "go for a check-up," to the point where she "feels bothered."

Ho Chi Minh City is implementing a public health check-up program, aiming for 100% of residents to receive regular examinations and establish electronic health records by 2026 for long-term monitoring. To date, nearly 4 million people have received free check-ups, and their health data is on the system.

Responding to VnExpress on 4/9, Associate Professor Tang Chi Thuong, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health, affirmed that employees who had annual health check-ups at businesses in 2026 do not need to be re-examined under the public program if the examinations meet the requirements. According to Thuong, the program aims to ensure residents receive regular check-ups, early detection of risk factors and diseases, and health management, without requiring them to repeat what has already been done.

Residents receive free medical examinations at a health station in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Quynh Tran

How are workplace check-up results updated?

According to Thuong, healthcare facilities conducting annual health check-ups for employees are responsible for updating the results to the Community Health Management Platform. For those examined using current forms, data will be fully updated and integrated into electronic health records for long-term monitoring.

"Employees do not need to manually enter or bring results to update their electronic records", the head of the city's health sector stated.

Specifically, for those examined from 1/1/2026 until before 25/5/2026, the period when the city launched the public health check-up program, some records were created using old forms and lacked sufficient information to upload all results to the system. In such cases, the healthcare facility that conducted the check-up will update the information and examination date to confirm that the employee was examined in 2026. However, detailed examination results may not yet appear on the electronic health record. From subsequent annual check-ups, results will be updated using new forms and integrated more comprehensively into the electronic health record.

Already received a check-up but still invited: Is another visit necessary?

Residents do not need to visit health stations to re-enter examination results. According to Thuong, the healthcare facility that conducted the examination is responsible for reviewing and updating the data.

If a person has had a health check-up at a business or healthcare facility in 2026 but is still invited by local authorities to participate in the program, they can inform the health station or local officials about where and when they were examined for verification. The health station only records the information of those already examined for management, statistics, and reporting purposes; it does not replace the responsibility of the facility that conducted the examination to update the data.

According to Thuong, health data is managed using personal identification information, which helps determine each person's examination status for the year. The list of individuals whose examinations have been recorded is updated for local authorities to review, allowing them to continue encouraging those who have not yet been examined and reduce re-invitations. A situation where a person has had a health check-up but still receives an invitation may occur if the healthcare facility has not updated the data or if the data has not been synchronized promptly. The city's goal is for every resident to receive regular health check-ups, with results updated to electronic health records for long-term management, while also reducing unnecessary duplicate examinations and tests.

Le Phuong