National Assembly Delegate: Drugs circulated in the US and Europe for 5-6 years but still have to wait for visa to enter Vietnam

Delegate Nguyen Lan Hieu - Photo: National Assembly Media

On October 22, while discussing the amendment of the Pharmacy Law at the National Assembly, delegate Nguyen Lan Hieu (Binh Dinh) mentioned the issue of issuing visas for drugs, which currently requires "a whole year of queuing".

"Thus, people may still suffer losses and not be able to enjoy the new achievements of science," Mr. Hieu said.

It is necessary to clearly regulate the import of drugs that have been recognized by other countries.

According to Mr. Hieu, many countries have much more difficulty than Vietnam, such as Japan, the US, and Europe, which have "medicines that have been in circulation for 5-6 years, but we still have to wait for visas."

From there, he emphasized the need for clear regulations in importing drugs that have been recognized by countries around the world through mass application research.

As the FDA of the US, Japan, and Europe grants licenses and the health insurance of that country covers the people's use, it is possible to carry out a simplified procedure for granting a license to circulate in Vietnam.

"For example, if we have a visa to the US or Europe in our passport, when applying for a visa to Taiwan, we can do it online, without having to be interviewed, it saves time and is free. This method should also be applied.

Or some developing countries have already used that medicine, we can help those medicines come to Vietnam sooner, as well as new treatment methods that can be applied to Vietnam," Mr. Hieu added.

Besides, according to Mr. Hieu, the issue of rare drugs that have not been registered for circulation in Vietnam was mentioned in the previous session, but the draft law has not emphasized it.

He cited examples such as specific drugs, antidotes, and desensitizing drugs... These drugs are very important and can save lives, but their usage rate is very low.

While waiting for import, registration for circulation is very time-consuming and companies do not want to import in small quantities, without profit, so they often have to buy and carry back.

From there, he suggested that there should be regulations on this matter and include in the bill a definition of specific specialized drugs in some specific treatment cases.

This is so that hospitals can buy directly from foreign companies or the Ministry of Health has a centralized purchasing plan for both in advance, and when the hospital has a need, it can receive it from the Ministry of Health.

Delegate Pham Khanh Phong Lan - Photo: National Assembly Media

Lack of management of distribution and retail pharmacies

Delegate Pham Khanh Phong Lan (HCMC) said that there is still a lack of direction on managing intermediate levels and companies with tens of thousands of pharmaceutical distribution companies and retail pharmacies.

While retail pharmacies are concentrated in densely populated areas, they are still lacking in remote areas as before.

"The number of these companies and pharmacies is increasing, while we do not have any method or solution to strengthen management.

We want to control drug prices, but we cannot regulate how many intermediary levels a pill can go through, or what the allowable profit margin is, and can only rely on self-declaration.

That price is impossible to say, so here the old order will repeat itself and it will be very difficult.

"When we have not yet managed this distribution system, the situation of buying and selling in circles, freely selling prescription drugs, or mixing in fake and poor quality drugs can still happen," Ms. Lan added.

Regarding the number of drug registrations, according to Ms. Lan, Vietnam currently has more than 800 active ingredients and 22,000 drug registration numbers, a number far exceeding that of other countries. There is a lot of duplication in domestic drug registration numbers, leading to difficulties in management.

She suggested that the number of drug registrations should be limited to make the registration process more transparent and rigorous, and requested that this provision be added to the draft law.

"I would like to reiterate once again the issue of registration numbers. I am extremely upset that up to now, registration numbers are still only issued on documents and that contains many risks.

We must learn from other countries how to limit technical barriers so that we can go and inspect production processes on the spot," said Ms. Lan.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/national-delegates-can-enter-into-my-chau-au-5-6-nam-nhung-vao-viet-nam-van-phai-cho-cap-visa-2024102215054374.htm