On December 31, 2025, the Minister of Health issued Circular No. 53/2025/TT-BYT amending and supplementing several articles of Circular No. 43/2025/TT-BYT. This Circular brings important changes to the guidance on functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of Health Stations of communes, wards, and special zones, aiming to ensure streamlined and effective operation in grassroots healthcare.
Below are the key points to note:
New Organizational Structure of Commune-level Health Stations
According to the new regulations, the organizational structure under the Commune-level Health Station is arranged to perform the following 05 basic functional groups:
- Administration, finance, personnel;
- Population, children, social protection;
- Disease prevention, food safety;
- Medical examination, medical treatment;
- Pharmacy, medical equipment, and paraclinical.
Based on population scale, natural area, and practical conditions, the Commune-level People’s Committee shall decide specifically on the name, quantity, and form of organization (department, room, team, unit) as well as the number of health points. This aims to ensure flexibility and suitability for each locality while complying with the establishment criteria prescribed by law.
Transitional Regulations When Rearranging the Organizational Apparatus
To ensure that medical examination and treatment activities are not interrupted during the rearrangement, merger, or renaming of Health Stations, Circular No. 53/2025/TT-BYT has provided specific guidelines on the transitional roadmap:
Regarding health insurance (HI) payment: The Health Station is allowed to continue payment for HI medical examination and treatment costs according to the service prices previously approved until there are price regulations for the new facility.
Regarding operating licenses: During the time of carrying out procedures for new issuance or adjustment of licenses, old licenses remain valid for performing medical examination and treatment and maintaining the validity of current HI contracts. For Health Stations that do not change location, only procedures to adjust the license due to changes in name or administrative address are required.
Regarding administrative management and data: The old facility code and seal are allowed to be used until new ones are issued. Specifically, during the transition period, the Health Station is allowed to submit electronic data no later than 07 days compared to the current regulations until stable operation is restored.
This Circular takes effect from January 01, 2026.
MSc. Nguyen Nam Anh – Center for Support & Continuous Training