Delegates continue to be impatient about the drug shortage, the Minister of Health said many obstacles have been resolved.

Delegates continued to express concern over the drug shortage, while the Minister of Health stated that many issues had been resolved.

In reality, there are still times when people, after their medical examinations, cannot buy medicine at the hospital pharmacy, affecting their treatment, according to feedback from National Assembly representatives.

Representative Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy (Tay Ninh) questioned the Minister of Health .

On the afternoon of November 11th, during the questioning of Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan at the eighth session, many delegates continued to express their impatience with the shortage of medicines and the slow payment of health insurance claims.

Representative Hoang Thi Thanh Thuy (Tay Ninh) said that the issue of delayed payment of health insurance funds to hospitals, despite being raised for many years, has not been resolved definitively.

According to Representative Thuy, this has created difficulties for medical examinations and treatment, and has also affected drug bidding, leading to recent drug shortages due to the financial difficulties of healthcare facilities.

The representative from Tay Ninh noted that, although the Ministry of Health has issued guidelines, the difficulties faced by many localities nationwide have not been resolved. Therefore, hospitals are currently facing both challenges and outstanding health insurance debts.

Ms. Thuy asked the Minister to clarify whether there is a commitment to work with Vietnam Insurance to resolve this issue for hospitals, and if necessary, to propose a specific mechanism to address the situation.

In response, Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan stated that the Government had directed the issuance of Decree 75 of 2023 to address the issue of outstanding health insurance debts.

"Recently, we, together with Vietnam Insurance, have settled over 11,000 billion VND in outstanding debts. Currently, Vietnam Insurance is coordinating with local authorities to allocate funds to medical facilities to resolve the outstanding debt issue," Ms. Lan said.

According to the Minister, this outstanding debt, which is returned to healthcare facilities as per regulations, is a significant resource for purchasing and bidding on medicines. In reality, due to outstanding debts, businesses have been reluctant to sell medicines to public healthcare facilities.

Also questioning the issue of drug shortages, delegate Nguyen Thi Thuy (Bac Kan) stated that, according to feedback from hospital pharmacies, there are still difficulties in drug bidding. In reality, there are still times when people, after their examinations, cannot buy medicine at the hospital pharmacy, affecting their treatment.

"I request the Minister to explain the cause of this problem and when it will be resolved," questioned representative Nguyen Thi Thuy.

Responding to the delegates, Minister Dao Hong Lan said that in recent times, the National Assembly and the Government have implemented many policies to address the issue of drug shortages. In particular, the 2023 Bidding Law has introduced many policies to facilitate the procurement and bidding of drugs in healthcare facilities.

Minister Dao Hong Lan informed that only one issue remains unresolved, concerning hospital pharmacies. Previously, hospital pharmacies were managed and operated by the hospitals themselves, purchasing medicines to sell to the public as needed, without using funds from the state budget or health insurance.

Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan.

However, the 2023 Bidding Law stipulates that hospital pharmacies must also participate in bidding. The diverse needs of patients create numerous challenges for hospital pharmacies. Healthcare facilities have raised this issue in the revised Pharmacy Law. The Pharmacy Law, which is expected to be passed at this session, will also amend the regulations concerning hospital pharmacies. This means giving healthcare facilities more autonomy, ensuring transparency, accountability, and a reliable supply of medicines for the public.

During the questioning session, delegate To Van Tam (Kon Tum) stated clearly that the shortage of medicine affects the quality of medical examination and treatment, and impacts patients. Previously, there were legal bottlenecks, but recently the National Assembly and the Government have made many efforts to resolve them, and these bottlenecks have been largely addressed. However, the shortage of medicine still persists.

So, is there a lack of responsibility on the part of those in charge of bidding for these medical facilities? If so, how will the Minister of Health address this? Mr. Tam questioned.

In response, Minister Dao Hong Lan stated that there are three levels of procurement in the drug bidding process: centralized procurement at the Ministry of Health, at the provincial level, and at healthcare facilities. During the implementation process, the National Assembly and the Government have resolved many obstacles.

Regarding the reasons, the Minister stated that the new regulations require research, understanding, and the allocation of personnel for implementation, which is still challenging. The personnel reading these regulations are still unfamiliar with them.

To address this issue, in addition to training, the Ministry of Health is developing a handbook on drug procurement. The Minister stated that it is almost complete and will provide specific guidance to ensure that localities and facilities have the capacity to implement it.

“In practice, some officials and units are hesitant to think outside the box or take action, fearing potential violations, and there are still obstacles in implementation. We have issued directives to medical facilities and submitted to the Prime Minister Directive 24, which stipulates the responsibility of heads of facilities to ensure the supply of medicines and medical supplies. We hope that localities and facility directors will focus on implementing this extremely important task,” Minister Lan responded.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/dai-bieu-tiep-tiep-sot-ruot-truc-tinh-trang-thieu-thuoc-bo-truong-bo-y-te-noi-da-thao-go-nhieu-d229736.html