Increase drug supply for medical examination and treatment

Faced with the situation where hospitals are still lacking medicine, affecting the quality of medical examination and treatment, the Ministry of Health has implemented many measures to increase the supply of medicine to meet the needs of medical examination and treatment.

In recent times, the shortage of medicines has had a significant impact on the quality of medical examination and treatment. Many patients have had to go out to buy medicines, paying out of pocket for medicines covered by health insurance.

The Ministry of Health said that it has had many policies and guidelines to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment, including ensuring adequate and timely supply of drugs to meet the needs of both medical examination and treatment facilities and the market. However, there are times when some drugs have not yet had time to renew their registration; some drugs in very rare groups are still lacking local sources.

The Ministry of Health admits that the shortage of medical examination and treatment drugs is due to both objective and subjective reasons. The objective reasons have been mentioned many times, but the subjective reasons are due to the lack of initiative of some medical examination and treatment facilities in planning and placing orders with suppliers, especially for rare drugs, drugs with limited supply, and specialized drugs that depend mainly on foreign production facilities.

Besides, medical facilities and localities are not close in directing the assurance of drug supply such as lack of initiative in forecasting, determining needs, planning, and implementing procurement bidding...

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan said that the Ministry has prepared further solutions to increase drug supply. In particular, the amended Law on Medical Examination and Treatment and the Law on Bidding will take effect from January 1, 2024; the Government issued Decree 24/2024/ND-CP guiding the Law on Bidding. In particular, the Ministry of Health has developed a draft law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Pharmacy and is soliciting comments from agencies, organizations, and individuals... These are necessary solutions for hospitals to carry out procurement and bidding.

At the time the Government issued Decree 24/2024/ND-CP, which included specific items on the procurement of drugs and medical supplies, many hospitals were still hesitant to make purchases and had to wait for the guiding circular. According to Mr. Hoang Cuong, Head of the Policy Department of the Bidding Management Department (Ministry of Planning and Investment), when Decree 24 was issued, hospitals could bid and make purchases immediately.

To effectively implement the Law on Bidding, the Ministry of Health has recently issued 4 circulars based on a synthesis of difficulties and obstacles in the practical implementation of procurement and bidding for drugs, supplies and medical equipment. The Ministry affirmed that the circulars have many provisions to maximally resolve the shortcomings in bidding that hospitals have reported, such as local shortages of drugs, supplies and equipment at medical facilities; shortcomings and limitations in selecting contractors for centralized procurement; shortcomings in the construction of bidding package prices... In addition, the 4 issued circulars also create a synchronous and unified legal framework to ensure the effective implementation of the Law on Bidding and Decree No. 24 of the Government.

On the side of medical facilities, Dr. Nguyen Van Thuong, Director of Duc Giang General Hospital, said that the four circulars have removed many difficulties for hospitals, making bidding and purchasing more convenient. However, there is a provision and wording in the circular that needs to be explained more clearly to make it easier for hospitals to make purchases.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/tang-cung-ung-thuoc-phuc-vu-kham-chua-benh-d217935.html