Community Pharmacies and Social Prescribing in Viet Nam: Could Pharmacists Help Connect People to Community Support, and What Boundaries Should Apply?
IMPLEMENTATION & PRACTICE
Community Pharmacies and Social Prescribing in Viet Nam: Could Pharmacists Help Connect People to Community Support, and What Boundaries Should Apply?
Category: Implementation & Practice
Last reviewed: October 2026
An older woman visits a neighborhood pharmacy to collect medicines for her husband, who has several chronic conditions. While speaking with the pharmacist, she mentions that he has missed some follow-up appointments because she cannot always accompany him to the hospital. She also explains that looking after him has become increasingly difficult while she continues working.
The pharmacist can provide appropriate information about the medicines being dispensed, but her concerns extend beyond medication. The family may need practical help with transportation, information about available services or support with caregiving responsibilities.
Could the pharmacist help them find that support?
Community pharmacies may offer a useful starting point. In Viet Nam, they are familiar places where people regularly obtain medicines and seek advice about health concerns. These everyday encounters may reveal difficulties that would not necessarily come up during a medical consultation.
However, being accessible does not automatically make a pharmacy suitable for providing social prescribing. Pharmacists have defined professional responsibilities, pharmacies operate within a commercial environment, and some establishments may lack the time, privacy or partnerships needed for structured community referrals.
The question is therefore not whether pharmacists should become social workers or take on a new range of healthcare responsibilities. It is whether community pharmacies could help people reach appropriate support, under what conditions, and without compromising medication safety, professional independence or patient trust.
Why might community pharmacies have a role?
People often visit pharmacies for straightforward reasons. They need a prescribed medicine, have questions about treatment or want advice on how to use a product safely. Yet these conversations sometimes reveal problems that cannot be resolved through medicines alone.
An older person may have difficulty obtaining medicines because traveling has become more challenging. Someone managing a chronic condition may struggle to follow treatment because of financial or family circumstances. A caregiver may ask repeated questions about medicines while also expressing exhaustion and uncertainty about where to seek assistance.
In such situations, the pharmacist may be among the first healthcare professionals to hear about a practical difficulty affecting the person's care.
This does not mean that every concern should lead to social prescribing. Some problems require better medication counseling, an appropriate medical review or urgent healthcare assessment. Others may be addressed by providing reliable information about existing services.
The potential value of a community pharmacy lies in recognizing when a concern extends beyond the pharmacist's usual responsibilities and helping the person identify an appropriate next step.
There are also important differences between pharmacies. An independently operated neighborhood pharmacy may have longstanding relationships with local residents, while a pharmacy chain may have more standardized procedures and training resources. Neither model guarantees the capacity to provide community referrals.
Staffing, workload, privacy, professional competence and local service availability are likely to matter more than the pharmacy's size or commercial identity.
What would pharmacy-supported social prescribing mean in practice?
Pharmacy-supported social prescribing could involve pharmacists helping people connect with suitable non-clinical services when relevant needs emerge during routine pharmacy interactions.
The contribution might be as simple as providing verified information about a community organization. Where an agreed referral pathway exists, the pharmacist could also offer to introduce the person to an appropriate healthcare contact, social-work professional or trained community navigator.
These activities should be distinguished from a pharmacist independently assessing complex social needs, developing long-term support plans or managing a person's participation in community services.
Social prescribing involves an intentional connection between a person's needs or goals and an appropriate community resource. Depending on the model, this may involve signposting, referral, navigation assistance and proportionate follow-up.
Ordinary health promotion, such as displaying information about healthy eating or exercise, does not automatically constitute social prescribing. Similarly, giving someone a telephone number may be useful, but it does not necessarily mean that a structured referral has taken place.
The word "prescribing" should not create confusion about professional authority. Social prescribing does not expand a pharmacist's legal prescribing rights, turn a community activity into a medicine or make the pharmacy responsible for clinical decisions outside its authorized scope.
For Viet Nam, a realistic initial contribution may be a limited process through which pharmacists recognize relevant concerns, provide suitable information and, where an appropriate arrangement exists and the necessary permissions have been obtained, facilitate contact with another service.
The pharmacy would remain responsible for its pharmaceutical activities, while the receiving organization would retain responsibility for the services it is competent and legally permitted to provide.
What does international research tell us about pharmacists' involvement?
Interest in pharmacists' involvement in social prescribing has increased internationally, although the evidence remains limited.
A systematic review by Shankar and colleagues, published in Research in Social and Administrative Pharmacy in 2026, examined barriers and enablers to pharmacist involvement in social prescribing. The review included six qualitative or mixed-methods studies involving 274 participants from the United Kingdom, Canada and Norway.
Pharmacy accessibility, professional motivation and awareness of community needs were identified as potential advantages. However, the studies also reported important challenges, including limited understanding of social prescribing, uncertainty about professional roles, workload pressures, inadequate infrastructure and gaps in implementation support.
The review highlighted the importance of training, organizational readiness, sustainable funding and collaboration with other services. These findings are useful for program development, but the review focused on implementation experiences rather than clinical effectiveness. It does not establish that pharmacist involvement improves health outcomes or reduces healthcare costs.
Earlier research provides a similar picture.
A qualitative study by Rathbone and colleagues, published in PLOS ONE in May 2024, explored the views of 11 community pharmacists in Northern England. Participants expressed interest in social prescribing, but their understanding of the concept varied. Some associated it mainly with lifestyle advice or health promotion, while others recognized its broader role in connecting people with community support.
Time constraints, training needs and the demands of routine pharmacy work were recurring concerns.
Another study by Taylor and colleagues, published in Primary Health Care Research & Development in December 2024, explored community pharmacists' potential involvement in social prescribing for mental health and well-being. The research involved 17 stakeholder interviews and a focus group with nine members of the public in southwest England.
Participants saw opportunities for pharmacies to help people access non-clinical support, particularly because pharmacists were familiar and accessible within their communities. However, the researchers also identified concerns about workload, professional preparation and the need for appropriate funding.
A 2021 systematic review by Lindsey and colleagues had similarly identified only six eligible studies concerning social prescribing in community pharmacy, highlighting the limited evidence available at that time.
Taken together, these studies suggest that pharmacists could contribute to social-prescribing pathways, but their involvement requires careful planning rather than simply adding new responsibilities to existing pharmacy services.
The findings also come largely from healthcare systems with different professional structures, reimbursement arrangements and community-service networks.
A 2026 scoping review by Lwin and colleagues in The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific examined 55 sources concerning social prescribing across the region. It identified considerable variation in how programs were organized, funded and implemented. Although it was not specifically a study of Vietnamese community pharmacies, it reinforces the need to adapt international approaches to local conditions.
For Viet Nam, the evidence supports further exploration. It does not justify assuming that pharmacies are already prepared to deliver structured social prescribing or that the model would necessarily produce measurable improvements in health outcomes.
Where could pharmacists make a meaningful contribution?
The most practical opportunities may arise when medication-related conversations reveal difficulties affecting access to treatment, continuity of care or everyday functioning.
Consider someone who regularly struggles to obtain prescribed medicines because they cannot travel independently. The pharmacist may be able to explain appropriate medicine-related options and suggest contacting the treating healthcare provider. If a reliable local support service exists, information about transportation or other practical assistance may also be helpful.
A similar situation could arise when an older adult depends on family members to manage medicines and attend appointments. If the caregiver expresses difficulty coping, the pharmacist might offer information about available caregiver support or an appropriate service that can explore the family's needs.
Pharmacists may also hear about loneliness, limited mobility or financial pressures during conversations about medicines. Such concerns should be approached sensitively, without assuming that customers want to discuss personal circumstances in a retail environment.
The pharmacist's role is not to identify every social problem or routinely screen all customers. A more appropriate approach would be to respond when relevant concerns arise, clarify what assistance the person is seeking and offer suitable information within the pharmacist's competence.
There is also an important difference between recognizing a possible need and determining the most appropriate intervention.
For example, someone may say that they have stopped attending social activities because they feel tired and weak. The underlying cause could be related to a medical condition, medication effects, functional limitations or other circumstances. The pharmacist should not assume that joining a community activity is the right response without considering whether professional healthcare assessment is needed.
Suspected adverse drug reactions, treatment failure, serious symptoms or potential interruption of essential medication require appropriate pharmaceutical or medical attention. A community referral should never delay urgent care.
The same principle applies to mental health. A person describing loneliness may benefit from social connection, but symptoms suggesting depression, significant psychological distress or risk of self-harm require appropriate professional assessment and, where necessary, urgent intervention.
Pharmacists should also avoid making decisions about a person's medical fitness for rehabilitation, exercise or other physically demanding activities outside their professional scope.
Community support may complement healthcare. It should not replace diagnosis, treatment or clinical follow-up when these are needed.
What professional and legal boundaries apply in Viet Nam?
Viet Nam's pharmaceutical and healthcare legislation provides the starting point for considering any additional role for community pharmacies.
The Law on Pharmacy No. 105/2016/QH13, as amended by Law No. 44/2024/QH15, establishes the legal framework for pharmaceutical activities. The 2024 amendments took effect on 1 July 2025, alongside Decree No. 163/2025/ND-CP, which provides detailed provisions and implementation measures under pharmaceutical legislation.
Good Pharmacy Practices (GPP) are governed by Circular No. 02/2018/TT-BYT, as amended, including by Circular No. 11/2025/TT-BYT. Decision No. 2656/QD-BYT, issued by the Ministry of Health on 19 August 2026, repealed a specific provision of Circular No. 02/2018/TT-BYT but did not abolish the GPP framework.
These instruments establish requirements for pharmaceutical activities and the professional and operational conditions of retail medicine establishments.
They do not, by themselves, establish a dedicated national pharmacy-based social-prescribing service or give pharmacists new clinical powers.
The distinction between providing information and delivering a regulated professional service is particularly important.
A pharmacist who explains how to contact a publicly available community organization is not necessarily undertaking the same activity as a professional who assesses social needs, manages a complex case or provides formal social-work services.
If a proposed model involves medical examination or treatment, the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment No. 15/2023/QH15 and its implementing requirements must be considered.
Where activities involve regulated professional social-work practice, Decree No. 110/2024/ND-CP on Social Work and applicable implementing regulations are relevant.
Circular No. 29/2026/TT-BYT, effective from 25 August 2026, addresses social-work practice and continuing professional knowledge. It is relevant to the professional social-work workforce but should not be interpreted as creating a new social-prescribing qualification for pharmacists.
Circular No. 51/2024/TT-BYT, effective from 1 March 2025, regulates social-work activities in medical examination and treatment establishments licensed to operate as hospitals. It may provide a framework for considering cooperation with participating hospital social-work services, but it does not automatically extend those functions to retail pharmacies.
The applicable legal requirements depend on the actual activities undertaken, the legal status of the organizations involved and the qualifications and responsibilities of participating personnel.
A pharmacy business license or GPP compliance should therefore not be treated as automatic authorization to operate a clinical service, provide regulated professional social-work interventions or manage complex care-navigation cases.
For an early Vietnamese model, keeping the pharmacist's role focused on appropriate information and clearly agreed connections may be more feasible than establishing a comprehensive social-support service within the pharmacy.
Any proposed pathway would still require a specific legal and operational assessment before implementation.
Why are commercial boundaries particularly important?
One of the most distinctive challenges of pharmacy-supported social prescribing is the commercial environment in which many pharmacies operate.
Community pharmacies sell medicines and other products, and their financial sustainability depends substantially on retail activity. This does not prevent pharmacists from providing valuable professional advice, but it can create conflicts of interest when recommendations involve commercial services or products.
For example, a pharmacist may believe that a customer would benefit from participating in a suitable community exercise program. If the pharmacy has a commercial arrangement with a particular fitness provider or sells related health products, the customer may have difficulty knowing whether the recommendation is based on their needs or on a financial incentive.
The concern becomes greater when services are marketed to older adults, people living with chronic conditions or families seeking help in difficult circumstances.
Pharmacy-supported social prescribing should not become a mechanism for generating product sales, promoting supplements or directing customers toward paid providers through undisclosed financial arrangements.
A community connection should not depend on purchasing a product. Where relevant options exist, customers should receive clear information about costs and should not be led to believe that a commercially preferred service is their only choice.
Referral commissions and performance incentives require particular caution. A payment arrangement that rewards pharmacy staff for directing more customers to a particular provider may encourage unnecessary referrals or recommendations that do not reflect individual needs.
This does not mean that every commercial relationship is inappropriate or unlawful. Community support may involve legitimate private providers, and organizations participating in a pilot may need funding to cover additional work.
However, the structure of any arrangement should be transparent and reviewed under the applicable pharmaceutical, advertising, consumer-protection and other relevant legal requirements.
The Law on Advertising No. 16/2012/QH13, as amended by Law No. 75/2025/QH15 effective from 1 January 2026, is relevant where products or services are promoted.
Providing neutral information about available community support is different from advertising a commercial service. A pharmacy's participation in a program should also not be presented as evidence of government approval, clinical effectiveness or professional authorization beyond what has actually been established.
A sustainable funding model might support clearly defined training, coordination or other legitimate activities, where legally and contractually appropriate. Payments should not create pressure to maximize referral numbers or product purchases.
Trust is central to the pharmacist's relationship with the public. Any social-prescribing initiative should protect that trust rather than use it primarily as a commercial advantage.
How ready are community pharmacies in Viet Nam?
Readiness cannot be assumed from the number of pharmacies in a locality or the presence of an established retail network.
Vietnamese community pharmacies differ considerably in staffing, premises, workflows, management practices and professional resources. Some may have trained personnel, suitable consultation arrangements and relationships with nearby healthcare providers. Others may operate with limited staff and little capacity for activities beyond routine pharmacy services.
Before introducing a new referral function, it is important to understand how well essential pharmaceutical responsibilities are already being performed.
A study by Do and colleagues, published in Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy in 2025, provides a relevant example.
The researchers used simulated patients to examine antibiotic dispensing and counseling practices at 352 community pharmacies in Ho Chi Minh City. The fieldwork was conducted between January and June 2023.
In the simulated common-cold scenario, antibiotics were dispensed in 83.0% of pharmacy encounters. The study also identified shortcomings in important elements of medication counseling.
These findings raise concerns about the quality of some routine pharmacy practices. However, the study examined a specific simulated-patient scenario in one city during 2023. It should not be used to describe the current performance of every Vietnamese pharmacy, and it did not assess readiness for social prescribing.
Its relevance is practical: before adding new responsibilities, participating pharmacies should demonstrate that their core professional activities can be carried out reliably.
GPP compliance is an essential consideration, but it does not automatically establish competence in recognizing social needs, protecting vulnerable people, managing referrals or communicating with community-service providers.
Readiness would also depend on whether staff can discuss sensitive concerns privately, access accurate information about local services and respond appropriately when someone requires medical attention or specialized assistance.
A pharmacy with one pharmacist handling a busy dispensing counter may have very different capacity from an establishment with additional trained staff and suitable space for private conversations.
Digital systems may support pharmacy operations, but dispensing software or retail customer-management systems are not necessarily suitable for storing or transferring sensitive referral information.
Practical preparation should therefore include an assessment of staff roles, training needs, pharmacy workflows, privacy arrangements and the additional time required for participation.
Pharmacists would need to understand what social prescribing is, what it is not, when a community connection might be useful and when another professional should take responsibility.
Other pharmacy personnel may be able to provide basic information within their authorized roles and established procedures, but they should not be expected to make clinical judgments or undertake professional assessments for which they are not qualified.
The involvement of the pharmacist responsible for professional practice is particularly important when a proposed pathway could affect medication counseling, safety or other pharmacy operations.
These considerations suggest that participation should be based on demonstrated readiness rather than assuming that all pharmacies can provide the same level of support.
What would effective cooperation with healthcare and community services look like?
Pharmacy-supported social prescribing would only be useful if people could actually reach appropriate services after speaking with a pharmacist.
A directory of community organizations may be a starting point, but it does not establish a functioning referral pathway. Receiving services need to be accessible, reliable and able to support the people being referred.
This requires cooperation between pharmacies, healthcare providers and community organizations, with responsibilities clearly assigned.
A healthcare provider would continue to manage clinical assessment and treatment within its professional scope. The pharmacist would remain responsible for pharmaceutical activities and any limited referral-related tasks agreed under the program.
A community organization would provide the activities or support for which it is competent and legally permitted to operate. Where more detailed assessment or coordination is needed, an appropriately qualified professional or trained navigator could help the person explore available options.
Consider a pharmacy working with a local healthcare organization and a community service supporting family caregivers.
When a caregiver asks for help beyond medication counseling, the pharmacist could offer verified information about the service. If the caregiver wants further assistance and an appropriate pathway has been established, the pharmacist could help arrange contact with a designated receiving professional.
That professional would then determine the person's needs, the suitability of available support and whether additional healthcare or social-work involvement is required.
The pharmacy would not automatically become responsible for managing the family situation or following every stage of the person's participation.
For such cooperation to work, partners need practical arrangements covering the types of concerns that may be referred, the receiving service's eligibility requirements, communication methods, response expectations, costs, information sharing and the management of safety concerns.
The pathway should also explain what happens when a service is unavailable, unable to accept a referral or identifies a problem outside its competence.
This is especially important in areas where community services may be informal, have limited resources or lack standardized referral procedures.
A program should not encourage pharmacists to refer people to organizations solely because they appear on a contact list. Participating partners should understand what each service provides, its capacity, relevant competencies and any limitations that could affect participant safety.
The arrangements should remain proportionate. A pharmacy that only provides publicly available contact information may need a simpler process than one participating in an established referral and follow-up system.
The aim is to create a reliable connection without transferring responsibilities to organizations or individuals who are not equipped to manage them.
How should confidentiality and personal data be protected?
A pharmacy visit may involve sensitive information even when the original purpose is simply to obtain medicines.
Customers may disclose details about their health, family circumstances, financial difficulties or ability to manage daily activities. Sharing such information with another organization raises legal and ethical responsibilities.
Viet Nam's Law on Personal Data Protection No. 91/2025/QH15 and Decree No. 356/2025/ND-CP both took effect on 1 January 2026. They establish important requirements for the processing and protection of personal data, including sensitive information relating to health.
Article 26 of the Law on Personal Data Protection contains specific provisions concerning health information and certain disclosures involving healthcare and insurance providers.
The law generally requires the data subject's consent for collecting and processing health-related personal data, subject to specified statutory exceptions. It also restricts the disclosure of personal data by organizations and individuals operating in the health sector to third-party providers of healthcare or certain insurance services, except where the data subject has made a written request or an applicable legal exception applies.
These requirements are particularly relevant if a pharmacy-supported pathway involves exchanging patient information with another healthcare organization.
The precise obligations depend on the organizations involved, the information being processed and the purpose of the disclosure. Referrals to non-healthcare community organizations also require an appropriate legal basis and compliance with applicable data-protection requirements.
A person agreeing to receive pharmacy services should not be assumed to have authorized the transfer of their personal information for unrelated purposes.
Particular care is needed when someone collects medicines on behalf of another person. A family member's willingness to share information does not automatically establish legal authority to consent to the disclosure of the patient's personal data.
The amount of information collected and shared should also be proportionate.
A community service helping someone participate in a local activity may need to understand accessibility requirements or relevant support needs. It would not normally require unrestricted access to the person's prescription history or medical records.
A simple information-only pathway may not require the pharmacy to transfer personal information at all. Where direct referral is appropriate, the partners should determine what information is genuinely necessary and how it can be transferred securely.
Uncontrolled spreadsheets, informal messaging groups and digital platforms without suitable safeguards should not be used for sensitive referrals merely because they are convenient.
Any digital referral system should have defined organizational responsibilities, appropriate access controls, data-retention arrangements and procedures for responding to security or privacy incidents.
Decree No. 330/2026/ND-CP, effective from 19 August 2026, establishes administrative penalties in the fields of cybersecurity and personal-data protection. This reinforces the importance of treating information protection as an operational requirement rather than a formality.
A pharmacy-supported model should make it easy for people to obtain useful information without requiring them to disclose more than is necessary.
It should also prevent information collected for community support from being reused for unrelated marketing, customer profiling or product promotion without the necessary legal basis and safeguards.
What might a realistic pilot look like in Viet Nam?
A reasonable starting point would be a small voluntary pilot involving selected community pharmacies, an appropriate healthcare partner and a limited number of verified community services.
Rather than attempting to address every social need, the pilot could focus on a practical issue that pharmacists may encounter during routine work.
For example, it might examine whether pharmacies can help people who report difficulty attending healthcare appointments identify suitable sources of non-clinical assistance. Another possibility would be helping family caregivers find reliable information and connect with an appropriate support contact.
These are potential implementation models, not descriptions of established or clinically validated pharmacy-based social-prescribing services in Viet Nam.
The precise focus should reflect local needs and the availability of services, rather than assuming that a particular type of community support is needed everywhere.
Before implementation, each participating pharmacy would need a readiness assessment covering legal and professional compliance, staffing, dispensing and counseling practices, privacy, workflow capacity and willingness to participate.
Receiving organizations should also be assessed. A pharmacy referral is of little value if the intended service lacks appropriate capacity, is inaccessible to the person or cannot provide the support described.
The partners would then develop a practical protocol explaining when pharmacists may offer information, when healthcare referral should take priority, how a voluntary introduction can be arranged and who is responsible for responding.
Training should use realistic situations involving both medication-related concerns and practical difficulties. Staff should understand that the purpose is not to conduct comprehensive social assessments at the pharmacy counter.
A pilot would also need proportionate arrangements for clinical escalation, safeguarding, complaints, data protection and communication between organizations.
Funding deserves attention from the beginning.
Even a limited referral function may require staff time, training, coordination and additional communication with partner organizations. These activities should not compromise dispensing, medication counseling or other essential pharmacy responsibilities.
Any funding arrangement should be lawful, transparent and designed to support legitimate work rather than encouraging unnecessary referrals.
The capacity of receiving organizations also matters. A program is unlikely to remain sustainable if pharmacies receive support while community partners are expected to accept additional responsibilities without adequate resources.
Community representatives and potential participants should contribute to the design, particularly where concerns about confidentiality, stigma, service costs or the commercial setting may affect willingness to participate.
The initial objective should be to determine whether pharmacy-supported connections are safe, acceptable and workable in a particular setting.
It would be premature to assume that a small pilot will reduce hospital admissions, improve clinical outcomes or generate healthcare savings.
How should the results be evaluated before expansion?
Evaluation should focus on whether the pharmacy's involvement provides meaningful assistance without weakening routine pharmaceutical care.
The number of people receiving information or being referred is useful operational data, but it is not sufficient evidence of success.
A referral may not be accepted, the person may decide not to participate, or the community service may be unable to provide the expected support.
A more useful assessment would examine whether referrals were appropriate, whether people reached the intended service, whether they found the support relevant and whether important practical barriers were addressed.
The experience of people who decline a referral also matters. Some may prefer to find support independently, while others may be uncomfortable discussing personal circumstances in a pharmacy.
The effect on pharmacy operations should be evaluated alongside participant experiences.
Staff time, dispensing workflows, medication counseling quality, training needs and professional confidence are all relevant. A referral system that creates additional workload but compromises core pharmacy responsibilities would be difficult to justify.
Partners should also examine unsuccessful referrals, communication problems, complaints, privacy incidents and other safety concerns.
The resources needed by community organizations should not be overlooked. A referral pathway may appear efficient from the pharmacy's perspective while creating additional work for receiving services that lack the capacity to respond.
Where participants report improved well-being or easier access to support, such findings should be interpreted according to the study design.
A small feasibility pilot may provide useful information about acceptability and implementation, but it cannot establish clinical effectiveness or cost-effectiveness without an appropriate evaluation design.
The most important early findings may concern which pharmacies are suitable, which types of connections are useful, where operational difficulties arise and what would need to change before expansion.
Not every pharmacy would necessarily progress to a more structured role. Some may be best suited to providing reliable information, while others may have the capacity to participate in formal referral arrangements with appropriate support.
This variation is reasonable. The level of participation should reflect demonstrated capability, local needs and the availability of trustworthy receiving services rather than a requirement for every pharmacy to provide the same service.
Community pharmacies could help, but the boundaries matter
Community pharmacies are potentially valuable points of contact because pharmacists may hear about difficulties that extend beyond medication use.
A person who cannot attend follow-up appointments, an older adult who struggles to obtain medicines or a family caregiver looking for assistance may benefit from being connected with an appropriate service.
Pharmacists do not need to become social workers or comprehensive care navigators to contribute. In some circumstances, recognizing the concern, providing accurate information and offering an appropriate introduction may be enough.
However, pharmacy-supported social prescribing should not be introduced simply because pharmacies are accessible or because social prescribing is gaining international attention.
The available research supports further exploration, but it does not establish that the model is effective in every setting. In Viet Nam, its development would need to respect existing professional and legal boundaries, protect personal data, address commercial conflicts of interest and ensure that receiving services can provide suitable support.
For Social Prescribing Vietnam, the most useful direction is to examine how selected pharmacies could contribute to practical, locally coordinated pathways without compromising their primary pharmaceutical responsibilities.
The value of the model would not come from turning pharmacies into new social-service centers. It would come from helping people find trustworthy support when their needs extend beyond medicines and when an appropriate service is available.
Whether community pharmacies should participate, and how far their role should extend, must be determined by local readiness, responsible partnerships and evidence from real-world implementation.
The goal is to make appropriate community support easier to access while preserving the professional responsibilities and public trust on which safe pharmacy practice depends.
References
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National Assembly of Viet Nam. Law No. 105/2016/QH13 on Pharmacy, as amended, including by Law No. 44/2024/QH15, effective 1 July 2025.
Government of Viet Nam. Decree No. 163/2025/ND-CP detailing provisions and implementation measures under the Law on Pharmacy. Effective 1 July 2025.
Ministry of Health of Viet Nam. Circular No. 02/2018/TT-BYT on Good Pharmacy Practices, as amended, including by Circular No. 11/2025/TT-BYT, and subject to the partial repeal under Decision No. 2656/QD-BYT, effective 19 August 2026.
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Ministry of Health of Viet Nam. Circular No. 29/2026/TT-BYT on social-work practice and continuing professional knowledge. Effective 25 August 2026.
National Assembly of Viet Nam. Law No. 91/2025/QH15 on Personal Data Protection. Effective 1 January 2026.
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Editorial and legal note: This article provides an educational and implementation-focused discussion based on research and legal frameworks reviewed through October 2026. It does not establish that pharmacy-supported social prescribing is a nationally authorized, standardized or clinically validated service in Viet Nam.
Any proposed program requires assessment of its specific activities, applicable legal requirements, professional responsibilities, commercial arrangements, data-protection obligations and the competence and capacity of participating healthcare, pharmacy and community organizations.