On August 9, 2025, at the University Medical Center HCM City (UMC HCMC), the 2nd Vietnam Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) Conference was successfully held with the participation of more than 300 domestic and international delegates. With the theme “Systems thinking and strategic management in ERAS”, the conference has become an important forum connecting leading domestic and foreign experts to discuss solutions for organizing of patient care modernly, effectively and humanly.
In his opening speech, Nguyen Duc Chinh, PhD. MD. Assoc. Prof. – President of ERAS Vietnam Association emphasized: “ERAS is not only a treatment process but also a comprehensive care philosophy, focusing on the patient, requiring multidisciplinary coordination and changing outdated care habits with interventions based on evidence and international recommendations. The goal is to optimize treatment results, reduce complications and improve the quality of life for patients”.
At the conference, Le Quan Anh Tuan, PhD. MD. – Vice President of ERAS Vietnam Association, Head of the Department of Hepatobiliary and Pancreatic Surgery – UMC HCMC, presented his experience in implementing the ERAS program at his department: “The effectiveness of surgery does not only come from “care after surgery”. We build a comprehensive care plan throughout: from the pre-hospital stage (instructions on quitting smoking, drinking, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, etc.), during hospitalization (nutritional assessment, prevention of deep vein thrombosis), during surgery (minimal invasive intervention, multimodal pain relief, keeping warm, anti-emetic – nausea, control of arrhythmia) to the post-operative stage (early feeding, early mobilization and rehabilitation)”. He also emphasized the role of digital technology and electronic medical record software as an important step forward, not only helping to monitor compliance, collect data but also supporting training and standardizing processes at other medical facilities. In the reports, international experts such as Prof. Guo Shu-Lin (Taiwan), Prof. Joy Notter and Prof. Chris Carter (UK) shared their experiences in implementing ERAS nationwide and applying systems thinking in hospital management.
During the discussion session, the mentioned contents also delved into the issues of compliance monitoring, human resource training, improving quality of life and shortening hospital stay – key factors that help ERAS not only be a theory, but also become an effective practice, attracting the attention of colleagues attending the Conference.
The conference also marked the steady development of the ERAS Vietnam Association. At the same time, delegates agreed on the view that ERAS implementation needs to be linked with continuous training, interdisciplinary consensus, and data application as a foundation for quality improvement
Carrying out the mission of providing quality and safe products according to Japanese standards to nourish and care for the health of each specialized group in Vietnam, Otsuka Vietnam is honored to be the Bronze Sponsor for this conference.
Source: UMC HCMC
Some pictures of Otsuka Vietnam at the conference
