Review and strictly handle medical staff who violate prescription of functional foods and milk.

On April 22, the Ministry of Health sent a document to hospital directors and health department directors of provinces and cities regarding strengthening inspection and supervision of the implementation of legal regulations in medical examination and treatment related to the prescription of drugs, functional foods and milk, which are of great concern to the people.

According to Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan, recently, through the medical examination management work of the Ministry of Health, announcements by a number of agencies, units and reflections on the media about the situation of medical staff advising and instructing patients and their families on the use of milk products produced and distributed by a number of businesses, organizations and individuals and investigated and discovered to be fake milk and the production and trade of fake drugs on a large scale...

To ensure that medical examination and treatment strictly comply with legal regulations, medical expertise and ensure the rights and safety of patients, the Ministry of Health requests that the Directors of Hospitals under the Ministry and the Directors of the Departments of Health of provinces and centrally run cities urgently direct the implementation of a review of the prescription, indication, use of drugs and the consumption of non-drug products such as milk and functional foods.

Regarding the prescription, indication, and use of drugs, the Ministry of Health requires hospitals to review, check, and compare the list of drugs and drugs used in medical examination and treatment facilities with counterfeit drugs that have been investigated, discovered, and handled by competent authorities recently to take measures according to regulations.

In particular, hospitals need to review and check the prescription of non-medicinal products such as milk, functional foods, etc. to promptly correct and take measures to handle them according to regulations.

Regarding the consumption of non-medicinal products such as milk, functional foods, etc. in medical examination and treatment facilities: Hospitals need to inspect and review the medical staff's consultation, introduction, and sale of dairy products (especially fake dairy products that have been investigated and discovered by the investigation agency), functional foods, etc. to patients and their families.

The Ministry of Health requires hospitals to review and ensure that nutrition activities in hospitals are carried out in accordance with the provisions of Article 67 of the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment 2023 and Circular No. 18/2020/TT-BYT dated November 12, 2020 of the Ministry of Health regulating nutrition activities in hospitals.

Hospital directors shall step up inspection and supervision of information, advertising, marketing, prescription, consultation, labeling, and instructions for use of non-medicinal products that are used to prevent, cure, diagnose, treat, alleviate, or regulate physiological functions of the human body; advertising beyond the scope of practice or beyond the scope of professional activities approved by competent authorities; taking advantage of medical knowledge to falsely advertise medical examinations and treatments.

The Ministry of Health requests that directors of hospitals under the Ministry and directors of health departments of provinces and centrally run cities strictly handle, absolutely not cover up or tolerate violations, and at the same time strengthen the dissemination of legal regulations and timely information to raise awareness and sense of responsibility of medical staff, patients, relatives and people in participating in detecting and combating violations./.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/ra-soat-xu-ly-nghiem-nhan-vien-y-te-vi-pham-ke-don-thuc-pham-chuc-nang-va-sua-post1034371.vnp