Ho Chi Minh City Hospital faces a series of difficulties in purchasing medicine and medical equipment.

Many hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City face some difficulties and problems in drug procurement and bidding - Photo: XUAN MAI

On the afternoon of October 12, a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said that they had sent a report to the Department of Planning and Finance (Ministry of Health) about difficulties and problems in the procurement and bidding of drugs and medical equipment.

A series of difficulties in drug bidding

Regarding incentives for goods of Vietnamese origin, Article 5 of Decree No. 24/2024/ND-CP does not provide specific instructions on the documents that contractors need to submit to enjoy incentives and the basis for verifying the accuracy of the documents.

Regarding the assessment of the contractor's capacity and experience according to the content of the standard table for assessing capacity and experience of the Ministry of Health on bidding for drugs at public health facilities, there are still some inconsistent points. Among them, the provision of drugs to drug businesses is not considered as completing the contract as a contractor.

In addition, the supply of drugs to drug retail establishments at medical examination and treatment facilities is not required to go through bidding before the Law on Bidding takes effect.

The bid price lookup system is not convenient for searching and synthesizing information, such as not being able to download the contractor selection results data file, requiring login when looking up.

Regarding drug information mapping after the contractor selection results, some drugs have been granted circulation registration numbers by the Drug Administration but have not been updated in the shared list on the Vietnam Social Security electronic portal.

This leads to the fact that medical facilities have selected contractors but cannot push mapping data to the electronic portal of Vietnam Social Security to use these drugs for patients covered by health insurance.

Bidding and purchasing equipment has also been a "painful" issue for hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City in recent times - Photo: XUAN MAI

Corridor for purchasing medical equipment is not complete and timely.

Regarding the procurement of medical equipment, the legal framework related to bidding and specialized laws have not yet fully regulated the content and have not been promptly updated with economic and social development.

Among them, the list of national centralized procurement for medical equipment, supplies, biological and chemical testing products and circular guiding the principles and criteria for dividing medical equipment groups according to technical and quality standards in bidding have not been issued.

At the same time, the national procurement list for medical equipment, supplies, and testing chemicals has not been issued.

In addition, the Ministry of Health has not yet issued a circular guiding the declaration of prices of medical equipment and digital platforms. The current (legal) information portal is not convenient for looking up, searching and supporting the work of reviewing, comparing and building prices of goods and medical equipment of a complex technical nature.

Circular No. 08/2019/TT-BYT dated May 31, 2019 of the Ministry of Health has not yet adjusted the "subjects of application", so some health service units in localities do not have a basis to develop and submit for approval standards and norms for the use of specialized machinery and equipment in the medical field; affecting the procurement process.

Ministry of Health removes obstacles in bidding at medical facilities

Recently, in Ba Ria - Vung Tau province, the Ministry of Health organized a workshop to implement the Law on Bidding, Decree No. 24/2024/ND-CP and circulars of the Minister of Health.

According to Mr. Hoang Cuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Finance (Ministry of Health), in recent times, the Ministry has continuously organized many training conferences, disseminated and guided the implementation of bidding laws in direct and online forms to all health departments and hospitals nationwide.

In addition, the functional units of the ministry have proactively coordinated with many health departments and hospitals to promptly guide investors in carrying out procurement and bidding work to ensure compliance with legal regulations, while continuing to strengthen guidance, inspection and supervision of the selection of contractors to supply drugs and medical equipment.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/benh-vien-tp-hcm-gap-loat-kho-khan-khi-mua-sam-thuoc-thiet-bi-y-te-20241012165224961.htm