Prescriptions for the community

A culture of gratitude through community activities has become a long-standing story and part of the brand identity of DHG Pharma. In every period, DHG Pharma has maintained its tradition of placing social responsibility and community health first, reflecting the distinctive character of Vietnam’s riverine Mekong Delta region, kind-hearted, loyal and generous.

On 27 February 2002, the Volunteer Doctors Team was established through the proposal and implementation funding of DHG Pharma, under the direction of the Department of Health and the Can Tho Youth Union.

The places that the Volunteer Doctors Team often visits are deep rural areas, former resistance areas and ethnic minority regions, not only in the Mekong Delta provinces but also in Central Vietnam and the Central Highlands. Wherever there are poor communities, natural disasters, or flooding, the team arranges to go directly there. Most members use their Saturdays and Sundays to participate in the activities. Doctors, nurses and medical staff conduct examinations and prescribe treatment, while the DHG Pharma team distributes medicines and advises local people on how to use the medicines correctly through the Prescriptions for the community project.

The Prescriptions for the community project by DHG Pharma was established to provide essential medicines and healthcare services to underserved communities and localities. This project focuses on improving community health and supporting grassroots healthcare by ensuring access to necessary treatments and promoting health education.

The Prescriptions for the community project by DHG Pharma is like a small-scale hospital, bringing comprehensive healthcare to the community. Doctors from major hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi, with full expertise across different specialties, directly examine local people. In particular, DHG also sets up specialised clinics right in local areas, including ultrasound services, electrocardiogram measurement, blood glucose testing, dental examinations, eye examinations and more, in order to create the most convenient conditions for people to access and take care of their health.

To ensure the program achieves the highest level of effectiveness, DHG Pharma spends around 1 month preparing before organisation, from surveying the actual location and working with local authorities, to collecting data on local disease patterns and working with medical centres to develop a suitable medicine list. The objective is to select medicines and equipment that match the local disease situation, helping the program respond as effectively as possible to the community’s healthcare needs.

Throughout the medical examination process, DHG Pharma always focuses on providing health advice to local people through direct 1:1 consultations with experts and doctors. Alongside specific guidance on using medicines correctly and at the right dosage as prescribed by doctors, the medical team also provides useful advice on appropriate nutrition, blood pressure control, prevention of health issues such as stroke and more. Not only is this health advice provided to those who are directly examined, but these people can also share it with family members and friends after their check-up. All of these activities aim to raise awareness and equip people with healthcare knowledge, especially in rural, remote and isolated areas, helping them live healthier and more peaceful lives.

With a network of more than 5,000 doctors from AloBacsi, DHG Pharma can make use of this valuable resource to continue caring for people’s health even after the program ends. We set up a hotline, turning it into a “strong shoulder” for people in remote and isolated areas, providing timely support and answers to all health-related questions. Our project does not stop at providing healthcare during the program, but continues to maintain support afterwards, in order to ensure that people can always feel reassured and receive continuous and sustainable medical care.

Not only do poor communities benefit from specialised medical examinations and receive free medicines, but local healthcare teams also have the opportunity to improve their professional skills through exposure to highly specialised doctors in the program. Through support from leading doctors and experts across different professional fields, lower-level healthcare workers not only gain knowledge, but also directly participate in the examination process and practise practical skills. As a result, the program not only improves the quality of medical examination and treatment for local people, but also contributes to enhancing the professional capacity of local healthcare teams, creating a long-term and sustainable impact on community healthcare.

Prescriptions for the community is not only a healthcare initiative, but also an indispensable part of DHG Pharma’s sustainable development strategy and culture. It reflects the company’s responsibility to the community, represents humanitarian and sustainable values, and spreads that spirit to every employee of the company. It is a distinct cultural identity found only at DHG Pharma and has been maintained and preserved through many generations of DHG Pharma people.

Objectives

Community healthcare: Aim to provide accessible grassroots healthcare for all people, especially those in difficult circumstances or areas affected by natural disasters, storms and floods.
Support for grassroots healthcare: Provide free or discounted healthcare services to the community.
Education and awareness raising: Help people gain more knowledge about disease prevention and how to use medicines safely and effectively.

Vision

Sustainable development: The project not only focuses on providing medical products and services, but also emphasises sustainable development, guiding people to use medicines correctly and safely, improving health and supporting grassroots healthcare. When community health is improved, society will develop further.
Community connection: Aim to build a healthy, united and mutually supportive community, creating a better living environment for everyone.
Corporate culture: With the mission of “taking community benefit as the starting point for every activity” pursued by DHG Pharma, the Prescriptions for the community project demonstrates the company’s commitment to social responsibility and a humane, people-centred corporate culture.

Implementation process, project scope

Activities in a medical examination and medicine distribution program: DHG Pharma prepares the full medicine supply for the medical examination and medicine distribution program based on practical needs and common health issues among local people.

This includes a full range of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medicines, pain relief and fever-reducing medicines, medicines for medical conditions such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, musculoskeletal conditions, digestive conditions and respiratory conditions, as well as healthcare products that meet JAPAN/EU-GMP standards.

With the core value of “taking community benefit as the starting point for every activity”, DHG Pharma has always maintained and deeply embedded this philosophy throughout its long development journey. The Prescriptions for the community project is a vivid demonstration of that sustainable value, affirming DHG Pharma’s strong commitment to community healthcare over many years. At the beginning of each year, DHG Pharma plans a separate budget to ensure this activity is always maintained, developed and able to bring practical value to the community. Every year, on 27 February — Vietnamese Doctors’ Day, DHG Pharma presents a partnership plaque to the Can Tho Department of Health, demonstrating its close commitment to accompanying the community healthcare program. This is the foundation that has enabled the project to be implemented persistently over the past 22 years. The project will continue to be organised and grow alongside DHG Pharma’s 50-year journey.

Every program organised by DHG Pharma receives strong agreement and enthusiastic support from Departments of Health, Medical Centres, and agencies and departments, helping the program take place fully and spread to many different regions. Currently, our project has reached all 63 provinces and cities, bringing quality medicines to people who still face many difficulties and to places where healthcare remains limited. However, our journey does not stop here. With the mission “For a healthier and more beautiful life”, we will continue stepping into new regions, where every healthy smile will be the motivation for us to keep contributing, spreading care and hope to every corner of the country.

The program implementation process is coordinated smoothly by many parties: Departments of Health, hospitals and medical centres, together with the companionship of DHG Pharma. Each unit is an important link, carrying its own mission, but the shared thread throughout is “working with all our hearts”. This dedication has created a strong chain of connection, helping each DHG Pharma medicine appear on the prescription. Every step and every action by all parties is directed towards one common goal: caring for and protecting community health.

Budget

Each year, DHG Pharma allocates around VND 10 billion to programs that care for and provide health consultation to local people, such as medical examination and medicine distribution activities, community seminars and social welfare programs.

Throughout 22 years of persistent work with the Volunteer Doctors Team, the Prescriptions for the community project has helped people across many regions access special healthcare services and spread positive values to the community.

After a 22-year journey, the project has created sustained and in-depth social impact in the region. More than 1,000,000 people have accessed and directly benefited from the project, including 22,000 people in Cambodia and Laos, showing that its scope of influence extends beyond national borders. With total funding of VND 25 billion, the program has not only expanded the scale of support, but also focused on long-term capacity by improving the skills of 1,000 local healthcare personnel, contributing to better healthcare quality and promoting sustainable community development.

The potential to scale DHG Pharma’s Prescriptions for the community project is very strong and offers many opportunities for sustainable development, especially as healthcare needs in remote and isolated areas continue to grow. Specifically, the following factors create potential for expanding and scaling the project:

Increasing demand for community healthcare:

With a large population and uneven distribution of healthcare facilities, many areas still lack basic medical services. DHG Pharma’s free medical examination and medicine distribution project can be expanded to more provinces and cities, contributing to the provision of essential healthcare services for people in disadvantaged areas.

Cooperation with local health authorities:

The project has received agreement and cooperation from local Departments of Health and Medical Centres, creating a strong foundation for expanding the program to more localities and developing it sustainably. Departments of Health and Medical Centres that receive medicine support from DHG Pharma can implement more programs and help more people. They act as extended arms of DHG Pharma.

A trusted network of doctors and specialists:

With a network of more than 5,000 doctors from AloBacsi, DHG Pharma has the capacity to implement the project quickly and effectively in many remote and isolated localities where medical human resources are lacking. The Prescriptions for the community project has received a warm response from local people and community organisations. This creates a strong foundation for expanding the project’s scale and strengthening community participation in healthcare.

Strong support from the community, partners and DHG Pharma’s leadership:

The Prescriptions for the community project has received a warm response from local people and community organisations. This creates a strong foundation for expanding the project’s scale and strengthening community participation in healthcare. In addition, DHG Pharma’s leadership has always focused on planning a separate budget for community activities. Having stable financial resources and a long-term vision enables the project to expand, develop continuously and remain sustainable. This explains why DHG Pharma’s program has continued to be renewed and maintained for more than 20 years.

Creating development opportunities for local healthcare workers:

The implementation of the project not only helps improve community health, but also creates training and development opportunities for local healthcare workers, thereby improving the quality of healthcare services on a broader scale. As a result, local people receive medical examinations and health consultations, while local healthcare teams improve their knowledge, professional skills and practical experience through leading specialists.

Strongly spreading to future generations:

The Prescriptions for the community project’s model has strong potential to spread to future generations through the active participation of volunteers. Through cooperation with medical and pharmaceutical training institutions, the program draws on the solid professional foundation of students, thereby improving the quality and effectiveness of its activities. Through real-life experience with DHG Pharma, students are not only equipped with knowledge, but also come to understand the humanitarian meaning of the project.

With the above potential, DHG Pharma’s medical examination and medicine distribution project can absolutely be scaled and developed strongly, contributing to improved community health, especially for disadvantaged groups who lack access to healthcare services.

Prescriptions for the community

Prescriptions for the community