Public health
Hospitals and clinics
Antibiotics prescribed ‘blindly’, doctors admit
Cambodian physicians, by their own admission, routinely prescribe antibiotics “inappropriately” based on habit and poor hygiene rather than evidence of an infection, a new study has found. The article, published by peer-reviewed science site BioMed Central last week, included research gleaned from focus group discussions ...
Patient numbers at public hospitals continue to tumble
The number of patients checking in to receive advice and treatment at government hospitals continues to decline because healthcare services were lacking in quality. Minister of Health, Associate Prof. Dr Bounkong Syhavong made the admission at a signing ceremony for construction of a patient’s service ...
Medical waste crisis in Tuyên Quang province

Medical waste is threatening the northern province of Tuyên Quang due to difficulties in treating the hazardous material at local healthcare facilities, said Deputy Director of the provincial Health Department, Đỗ Thị Ngọc Mai. She estimated that some 500kg of medical waste were discharged daily ...
Surrogacy ban lacks force of law

Anti-surrogacy advocates have welcomed the government’s recent stance to ban surrogacy in Cambodia, though legal experts have warned that the shady practice could still continue if the prohibition is not enshrined in law. In a ministry directive, or prakas, signed October 24, Health Minister Mam ...
Cambodia at ‘high’ risk of Zika outbreak in 2017

Amid reports of the emergence of the Zika virus in Myanmar and the discovery of the first birth defect believed linked to the virus in Vietnam, two researchers with Phnom Penh’s Pasteur Institute have concluded that Cambodia is at high risk of its own Zika ...
Optimism for pharma sector

Vietnamese pharmaceutical companies are optimistic about the business prospects of the sector, as well as its potential in 2016-17. This information was released in a survey alongside the top 10 most prestigious pharmaceutical companies in the country by the Ministry of Information and Communications and Việt ...
Building a medical system without a foundation?

Among Cambodia’s 11 registered medical schools, many lack basic resources for hands-on training – including cadavers. As a result, instructors, doctors and students worry about the future of the profession in a country already distrustful of its health care system. In 2014, the University of Health ...
First Japanese-run hospital opens in Phnom Penh for $35 million

“I think I want to be the first patient,” Prime Minister Hun Sen, who routinely leaves the country for medical care, said on September 20 at an opening ceremony for Cambodia’s first Japanese hospital, a state-of-the-art, $35 million facility in Phnom Penh’s Chroy Changva district. Sunrise Japan ...
Foreign investors inject more interest into private hospitals
More foreign investors are interested in opening private hospitals in the country in response to growing patient demand for high quality health services. Foreign investors from China, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and other countries have submitted their proposals to the Ministry of Health, asking for licenses to ...
NSSF, ministries finalising health insurance scheme

The National Social Security Fund on August 18 said it’s gearing up to sign agreements with about 200 provincial referral hospitals and health centres to provide coverage to a wave of recently insured workers in the country. Ouk Samvithyea, executive director of the NSSF, said a workshop ...