A strong step forward in digital transformation of Vietnam’s social insurance

Offering utilities and information concerning social insurance and health insurance payment and benefit on mobile devices, towards integrating and providing public and payment services online, is a step that goes in accordance with the current trend of digital transformation and building a digital government and country.

Deputy Director General of Vietnam Social Security Pham Luong Son.
Deputy Director General of Vietnam Social Security Pham Luong Son.

Deputy Director General of Vietnam Social Security (VSS) Pham Luong Son has granted Nhan Dan Newspaper an interview regarding vigorous transformations of information technology (IT) application in the sector’s operations.

Q: Along with the acceleration of administrative procedure reform, the application of IT and the modernisation of social insurance management have received great attention from VSS. How has IT application improved the sector’s operations?

A: Over the past years, the VSS has strengthened the application of IT in all professional activities of the sector, which has brought practical efficiency for the people, organisations, businesses and VSS agencies through integrating business software, providing level-3 and level-4 online public services, coordinating with banks to create a payment system digitising the collection-spending process, and providing multimedia utilities and multichannel payment for insured patients. That has worked to realise our set targets of transparentising and publicising the management of the sector’s activities; improving the capability of serving the people, organisations and businesses; and moving towards building the image of a modern and friendly VSS that satisfies the people, organisations and enterprises.

Q: The State has a policy of encouraging investment in the development of advanced technology and technical means to serve management work, towards building e-government. How will the social insurance sector implement the IT application work in the near future?

A: Currently, we are focusing on six groups of tasks to increasingly improve the IT application of the social insurance industry. The first is to ensure the stability and maintain the operation of the national insurance database, one of the six national databases assigned by the Government to the VSS to develop, manage and operate, as well as ensuring smooth technical infrastructure for IT application in terms of database on a national scale. The second is to update and interconnect the national database, developed and managed by VSS, with ministries, agencies and localities, ensuring such interconnection will share data to facilitate the social insurance sector, as well as ministries, branches and localities in serving the people and ensuring social security. Third, we will complete and operate the professional software system to further enhance the management capability and better serve the people. In addition, we continue to implement the sector’s digital ecosystem, in which the implementation of the app “VssID-Digital Social Insurance” on the smartphone system is considered one of the key tasks aimed at bringing more utilities to people and businesses when they register to participate. Also, we will implement the provision of online public services on the VSS’s electronic transaction portal and the national public services portal to create the most favourable conditions for the people in joining and benefitting from social insurance policies. There is a fact that in recent years, the time to settle administrative procedures on social insurance and health insurance has significantly improved. And finally, the VSS has always linked with and accompanied ministries, branches and units to develop and perfect the e-government architecture in the VSS, contributing to the building of an e-Government.

Q: The recent launch of the mobile app VssID marks a new step for the Vietnamese social insurance sector in IT application. Could you be more specific about this?

A: The implementation of VssID is an important step, strongly promoting the sector’s digital transformation in accordance with the guiding spirit of the Prime Minister, contributing to realising the assigned tasks in Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW of the 12th Party Central Committee on reforming social insurance policies. Through the app, with only one account for each individual (using their social insurance code), employees can directly monitor and supervise the employers’ payment of their social insurance, health insurance and unemployment insurance premiums, thereby reporting to the competent agencies on the arrears and evasion of social insurance contributions for timely handling. In addition, this app provides many other services and utilities that will contribute to publicising and transparentising information about the process of joining and enjoying social insurance and health insurance policies to each citizen.

It can be said that with VssID, we have tried to create the highest level of convenience, simplicity and security for users. In the near future, the VSS will continue to research and integrate public services and online payment utilities for individuals on the app to make VssID truly a useful tool sticking with the people and allowing them to perform transactions with social insurance agencies anywhere and at any time. This will contribute to building the Vietnamese social insurance sector of modernity, professionalism and working for the satisfaction of organisations and individuals.

Thank you very much!

VssID-Digital Social Insurance is a product of the Vietnamese social insurance sector’s digital transformation ecosystem serving the people. VssID currently provides essential utilities and information such as monitoring the process of participating in and the history of benefitting from social insurance and health insurance mechanisms and policies; searching for information regarding social insurance codes, social insurance agencies and medical facilities accepting social insurance as well as places for paying insurance premiums. It also offers round-the-clock support services through the website baohiemxahoi.gov.vn, customer support switchboard 1900.9068, email and the bank of frequently asked questions.