The pediatric clinic we invested in back in 2015 went bankrupt in 2021 amidst the COVID-19 lockdown in Ho Chi Minh City. As of October 2023, with the establishment of the new Healthcare Asia Ltd. by four members, we are beginning our activities in ASEAN. We record our past setbacks from the articles of that time and will use them to inform our next steps.

"In District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City, we invested 36% from the former Healthcare Asia Ltd. in a pediatric clinic and participated in its management. The owner is Dr. Dinh, one of the surgeons at Betochan Dokuchan. Originally the deputy director of the Ho Chi Minh First Children's Hospital, Dr. Dinh opened this clinic in District 1 near the hospital and provides medical services there.

Located in District 1, the clinic attracts affluent children from all over Ho Chi Minh City for treatment. While the outpatient unit price at the children's hospital is between 100 and 600 yen, our clinic charges 2,000 yen. Despite the higher price, Dr. Dinh's reputation draws many patients, even during hours when he is not present.

Typical of Ho Chi Minh City, our clinic only has a bike parking area with no car parking, and luxury cars often stop in front of the narrow entrance to pick up patients after treatments. It's rare to find such crowded pediatric clinics in Japan, but our clinic sometimes sees over 200 patients a day.

In Vietnam, where hospital-clinic collaboration is not well systematized, families still prefer to have their children seen by good doctors, even in a clinic like ours with only old X-ray and ultrasound machines.

Our current focus is observing how the clinic operates and acquiring operational knowledge. However, understanding the reality of the clinic's fragile accounting system is taking time. While we have a reliable medical billing system and electronic health records, we are yet to fully comprehend the complex insurance system, including private insurance, and the remuneration system.

Vietnamese staff, like their Japanese counterparts, demonstrate similar levels of hospitality. We feel that Vietnamese people can quickly learn the nuances of Japanese medical care. Fortunately, Clinic Manager Kan, who has previously worked for a Japanese manufacturer, understands the Japanese mentality well, which has been beneficial. Our mission is to identify problems and challenges after acquiring knowledge at the clinic, and to develop a system for implementing Japanese-style medical services.

However, it's challenging to accurately manage and operate the clinic without our daily presence. We realize the need for a trustworthy Vietnamese manager, not just Japanese personnel. We will continue to understand the operation of the pediatric clinic in District 1 of Ho Chi Minh City and move forward to the next step."

Despite these efforts and initiatives,
  1. Not placing investor-side staff in the clinic
  2. Lack of precise management accounting
  3. Neglecting daily management
  4. Delay in system development
  5. Ineffective communication with management
  6. Failure to grasp financials
were factors that led to our inability to overcome the COVID crisis. We are determined to use this as a lesson for our future activities. (Written by: Yuji Ishii)

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