**Context**
The unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic has become one of the major challenges for our healthcare systems, revealing inadequacies and limitations around care delivery for healthcare systems around the world. These problems are even worse in poor resource settings. Governments need to act quickly to strengthen their healthcare systems so that vital care provision is not interrupted amidst the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.
As in many countries, there is an urgent need for Vietnam to transform and strengthen its healthcare system to meet the rapidly changing population trends, patterns of disease, and healthcare needs, as well as addressing the scarcity of health resources. Although the country has achieved significant improvements in all areas of the health system framework (Dang et al., 2021), there remains areas of concern. The patient-centred care model, which focuses on patients and their particular healthcare needs is an advanced solution to optimize health and economic outcomes for any healthcare system (Reynolds, 2009).
Digitalisation in healthcare is a global trend to remotely carry out clinical assessment, diagnostic processes and health monitoring through different online platforms and mobile solutions to minimize or replace face-to-face interactions, which have become unsafe or difficult to access. The patient-centred care model with support of digital technologies, such as Bespoke Healthcare System (BHS), can help to deliver best practice healthcare and reduce pressure on the current healthcare system by empowering people to direct their own healthcare, regardless of their geographical location and economic status (Schofield et al., 2019). The BHS offers a promising and intelligent healthcare that which may be efficient and suitable for Vietnam in the new era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (World Economic Forum, 2020).
According to Alma Alta Declaration, primary care is essential for all healthcare systems (World Health Organization, 2021). Vietnam has a strong primary care network supported by more than 11,000 commune healthcare centres that provide basic and essential health services to people in every commune. This network is supplemented by additional outpatient “polyclinics”, run by multiple primary care and subspecialist physicians, and district hospitals (Hoa et al., 2018). Strengthening the primary care system is critical for Vietnam in this new era of dynamic change to improve accessibility and quality of healthcare (World Health Organization, 2018).
The transformation to a patient-centred care model underpinned by digital health solutions requires an in-depth understanding of the national context of health and technology systems, care processes and policies, and international digital health best practice. To prepare for this transformation, the Vietnam Military and Civil Medical Association (VMCMA) in collaboration with University of Medicine Pham Ngoc Thach (PNT) and Iverson Health Innovation Research Institute (IHRI) at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia will conduct a research project to provide insight and direction. This scoping review, a part of this project, aims to identify the application of digital technology toward patient-centred care model in the LMICs in the APR.
