The following article is reproduced verbatim from TheLEADER Magazine.
Nguyen Ngoc Anh Phuong, MSc, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Phuong Chau Healthcare Group, views ESG in healthcare as an emerging core operational discipline, in which quality of care and transparent data work together to build lasting trust.
As ESG—Environmental, Social and Governance—is no longer regarded as a concept associated solely with manufacturing or supply chains, the healthcare service sector is also entering a period of redefining how it operates and measures quality. From hospital space design and infection control to treatment data and patient experience, sustainable development is gradually becoming part of the daily governance discipline within healthcare systems.
In an interview with TheLEADER, Nguyen Ngoc Anh Phuong, MSc, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Phuong Chau Healthcare Group, stated that ESG implementation in hospitals is, first and foremost, a journey of standardization from within, where trust, data and organizational culture converge to create a quality of care that can be maintained consistently over time.
When the Philosophy of Quality Governance Evolves into ESG
How is ESG in hospitals today different from four or five years ago, when the concept was more commonly associated with manufacturing than with services, particularly healthcare?
Nguyen Ngoc Anh Phuong, MSc: Around four or five years ago, ESG was largely regarded as an “imported” concept—more of a reference framework than a practical operational tool.
In healthcare, particularly within hospitals, ESG is not a new trend that has emerged only in recent years. Rather, it provides a structured framework for quality principles that have long existed within the sector. Patient safety, infection control and information transparency have always been fundamental to healthcare operations. ESG, however, places these principles within a long-term strategic framework, supported by clearly defined indicators that can be measured and verified over time.
Under the E – Environment pillar, the focus extends beyond wastewater treatment and medical waste management. It also encompasses building design, ventilation, natural lighting, energy efficiency, fire prevention and firefighting systems, and particularly infection control within hospitals.
For S – Social, the focus is no longer limited to community activities. It now includes patient experience, employees’ mental well-being and a service-oriented culture embedded in every interaction.
Meanwhile, G – Governance goes beyond regulatory compliance. It encompasses data systems, processes, risk controls and transparency across all operational activities.
At Phuong Chau, from the earliest stages of hospital development, the leadership team and founders proactively visited and studied hospital models in various countries, including South Korea and several other Asian nations. At the time, these practices may not have been described as “sustainable,” but decisions concerning hospital design, materials and patient experience were guided by the principle of “doing things right from the outset.”
This created a strong foundation that allowed the healthcare system to adopt ESG naturally and seamlessly once it became a more clearly defined framework.
From the establishment of Phuong Chau Can Tho in 2010, followed by Sa Dec in 2017, Soc Trang in 2019 and, most recently, Phuong Nam in 2024, every stage of expansion has been accompanied by higher standards of quality and governance.
Today, ESG serves as an overarching term for the journey our healthcare system began many years ago: building a strong foundation before pursuing growth.
Nguyen Ngoc Anh Phuong, MSc, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Phuong Chau Healthcare Group. Photo: DNCC
When did Phuong Chau begin its ESG journey? In the initial stage, was the Group’s objective to standardize governance from within, or primarily to align itself with international standards?
Nguyen Ngoc Anh Phuong, MSc: When we began implementing ESG systematically in 2022, our most important objective was not to introduce additional activities, but to standardize how we measured and managed the factors that were already embedded in our operations. ESG gives our teams a shared language of data, enables leaders to identify risks earlier, and helps employees and partners clearly understand the standards by which the healthcare system operates.
Our initial expectation was not simply to produce “another report,” but to standardize healthcare governance from its foundations. In healthcare, transparency is not intended to enhance an organization’s profile. Its purpose is to reduce operational risks, provide teams with a shared data language, and help employees, investors, partners and patients understand how the system operates.
International standards provide an important frame of reference. However, our foremost priorities remain internal operational capability and consistency across the organization.
In your view, which ESG factor has the most direct impact on the quality of care at Phuong Chau?
Nguyen Ngoc Anh Phuong, MSc: For us, people are always the most important factor because people create processes, implement them and ultimately determine the quality of care delivered.
For this reason, Phuong Chau focuses on investing in professional training, employee benefits, the working environment and, particularly, an organizational culture that encourages long-term commitment. Some employees who have left the organization have even expressed a desire to return.
We believe that only when employees feel happy and respected at work can they extend a positive spirit of care to others. This is particularly meaningful in obstetric and pediatric care, where we accompany people from the earliest stages of life.
In hospital operations, however, the three pillars of E, S and G are closely interconnected and mutually reinforcing.
E – Environment encompasses a clean environment, biosafety, infection control and spatial design that helps reduce patient stress.
S – Social includes patient experience, the empathy demonstrated by nurses, employees’ mental well-being and the level of workforce engagement.
G – Governance covers process systems, treatment protocols, data, information transparency and multidisciplinary consultation mechanisms.
The quality of care, therefore, does not come from any single factor. It is the result of the combined effect of all three ESG pillars.
In infection control, for example—an area where the three ESG pillars clearly intersect—we go beyond sterile procedures in operating rooms. We also redesign the movement pathways of patients, employees and medical supplies throughout the hospital to reduce the risk of cross-infection.
At the same time, systems for monitoring hand-hygiene compliance, antibiotic use and infection-related indicators have been digitalized and tracked in real time.
This enables clinical decisions to be based not only on individual experience but also on collective data, thereby reducing variations in the quality of care between cases and across different facilities.
Standardizing from Within and Building Long-Term Trust
Regarding JCI, the U.S.-based international healthcare quality standard, how did Phuong Chau prepare for and implement the accreditation journey for each hospital and at the system level?
Nguyen Ngoc Anh Phuong, MSc: For us, JCI represents a highly important step because many of its core requirements—from process standardization, measurement and continuous improvement to patient safety—are closely aligned with the principles of ESG today.
Phuong Chau began pursuing JCI accreditation in 2017. This foundation meant that when we transitioned to an ESG-based approach, the healthcare system did not have to start again from scratch. It was more like continuing along a path for which a “roadmap” was already available.
In terms of implementation, our pioneering facility, often regarded as the flagship hospital in Can Tho, took approximately five years to achieve its first JCI accreditation. Once the framework and experience had been established, the subsequent facilities significantly shortened the process. Phuong Nam Hospital took approximately nine months, while Phuong Chau Soc Trang took around 12 months to achieve facility-level JCI accreditation.
At the higher level of JCI Enterprise accreditation, which applies to the entire healthcare system, the process took approximately one year after the member hospitals had established their JCI foundations. At this stage, the requirement was no longer simply for each hospital to meet the standards independently. The entire system had to demonstrate consistency in standards, governance and operating methods.
For us, JCI is not a medal to be displayed, but a discipline practised in daily operations. Once each hospital has achieved accreditation, the greater challenge is ensuring that the entire system continues to apply the same standards, use the same data and follow the same decision-making approach.
The ultimate objective is not to “achieve JCI quickly,” but to maintain JCI as an operational habit in which quality is delivered consistently, regardless of the facility or the point in time.
“JCI Enterprise is not simply about having each hospital meet the required standards. It means ensuring that the entire healthcare system operates according to a common standard, follows the same measurement logic and maintains the same level of quality. This reduces dependence on individuals and transforms knowledge and processes into shared organizational assets.”
Nguyen Ngoc Anh Phuong, MSc, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Phuong Chau Healthcare Group
Phuong Chau recently received the EcoVadis Committed badge, which recognizes businesses that have demonstrated a commitment to and initially met EcoVadis sustainability criteria. Why did the hospital choose this assessment system? In healthcare services, is EcoVadis an appropriate benchmark, particularly regarding information transparency, or are there more specialized systems available?
Nguyen Ngoc Anh Phuong, MSc: Our adoption of EcoVadis was connected to the participation of foreign investors beginning around 2022.
At that time, we needed an assessment system with international experience in healthcare services, as well as benchmarking data that would allow us to understand where we stood in comparison with similar organizations.
EcoVadis met both requirements. Its criteria also place strong emphasis on areas that are particularly relevant to healthcare, including human rights, business ethics, governance and the environment.
In practice, we had already implemented many relevant measures, including service transparency, process compliance and professional codes of conduct. However, these practices had not yet been systematically formalized into policies, documented or communicated consistently throughout the organization.
EcoVadis therefore serves not only as an assessment framework but also as a tool for evaluating the maturity of our governance system.
By benchmarking our practices against international standards, we were able to identify more clearly the gaps between operational practices and formal policy systems. This enabled us to standardize principles of professional ethics, service transparency and oversight mechanisms into common standards applied consistently across the entire healthcare system.
Looking ahead over the next five to ten years, how will ESG help position Phuong Chau within the healthcare ecosystem? Does the hospital plan to expand into additional provinces and cities or further develop its multidisciplinary services?
Nguyen Ngoc Anh Phuong, MSc: In the long term, ESG will not only help healthcare systems operate more effectively but will also contribute to redefining trust in healthcare.
When the quality of care, patient experience and transparency are measured through data and consistently maintained over time, a hospital becomes more than a place for medical treatment. It becomes part of a comprehensive family healthcare ecosystem.
For Phuong Chau, ESG is therefore not merely a set of governance criteria. It represents a commitment to developing a healthcare system capable of maintaining consistent quality across generations, where every operational decision is guided by safety, compassion and sustainability for patients and the community.
After more than 15 years of operation, Phuong Chau has developed into a healthcare ecosystem comprising four efficiently operating hospitals. Each follows the same ecosystem model, with Obstetrics, Pediatrics and IVF at its core, complemented by specialties including Gynecology, Andrology, General Healthcare and Aesthetic Medicine.
We believe that a multidisciplinary healthcare ecosystem is essential to comprehensively serve the needs of women and their families.
Thank you for your time.