Proposal to regulate the responsibility of the Ministry of Health in online drug sales

Fighting counterfeit drugs on social networks

On the afternoon of June 18, after listening to the presentation and review report on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Pharmacy, the National Assembly discussed this draft Law in groups.

Participating in giving opinions, National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Lan Hieu - Director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital, a delegate from Binh Dinh agreed with the change of the Pharmacy Law, when in reality, recently there have been many problems arising in the purchase and use of drugs in hospitals as well as among the people.

Firstly, renewing the drug circulation book is currently a very difficult problem for drugs that have been circulated. "We have used it for many years but every time it expires, we have to renew it," Mr. Hieu said and proposed that the draft Law stipulate automatic renewal if there is no problem with the previous period of use. Just like we will renew the practice license for medical staff in the future.

Second is the responsibility of the Ministry of Health in selling drugs online that are harmful to health, products advertised as drugs but are not drugs.

“Currently, there are many management ministries, but in reality, as a doctor myself, there is not a day that goes by without people calling to ask if this medicine is advertised by you or if you use it. Sellers use doctors' images and sell it online to people, causing waste and affecting the health of users,” Mr. Hieu stated the reality.

National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Lan Hieu.

Delegates suggested that the Law stipulates the responsibility of the Ministry of Health, there should be a specialized unit to combat counterfeit drugs on social networks, receive information, provide information to investigating authorities, and publicly inform people on the websites and apps of the Ministry of Health, not allowing people to use drugs of unknown origin that are widespread on social networks.

Third, Mr. Hieu agrees with promoting the development of the domestic pharmaceutical industry, but needs to know one's position and avoid being arbitrary. Avoid doing many ways to prevent products from big pharmaceutical companies from entering Vietnam, but our equivalent drugs cannot be compared with good drugs from abroad. People still have to use those drugs and the price of drugs will be pushed up. Avoid restricting the import of valuable drugs.

Fourth, is to buy prescription drugs online, with a prescription and the pharmacy will ship it to your home. Recently, the Social Committee did not support this idea and only agreed to allow home purchase of functional foods.

According to Mr. Hieu, in reality, many pharmacies are doing this, just take a photo of the prescription and have it delivered to your home.

“Therefore, I think that if we ban mechanical products, there is no solution. Therefore, I propose to implement them but there must be clear regulations, starting from the pharmacies of the hospitals themselves. When patients are discharged from the hospital, they can buy medicine 3 months later, and the regulations stipulate that pharmacies with electronic medical records can deliver medicine to people's homes,” said the Director of Hanoi Medical University Hospital.

Fifth, there is the problem of rare drugs that are not used or registered for circulation in Vietnam. We often use them as "hand-carried drugs", drugs that save lives.

The medicine is very good but the usage rate is very low in the country. While waiting for it to be imported and circulated, people have to ask someone to carry it home to use.

“We must have regulations. I propose that the Law on Pharmacy should define specialized drugs in specific medical cases so that hospitals can buy them directly from abroad or the Ministry of Health can have a centralized purchasing plan for the whole country. When hospitals have a need, they can import them from the Ministry of Health (if necessary),” said Mr. Hieu.

Finally, the visa issuance for new drugs still takes a long time, sometimes waiting in line for years. Therefore, people are disadvantaged and cannot enjoy the new medical achievements. Many countries with more difficulties such as Japan, the US, and Europe have had drugs in circulation for 5-6 years now, but we are still waiting.

"There must be a clear process for importing drugs that have been recognized by countries around the world, researched and widely applied," the delegate suggested.

Tight control of drug sales via e-commerce

Commenting on e-commerce drug trading, automatic drug vending machines and the rights and responsibilities of establishments providing the above services, National Assembly Deputy Nguyen Van Duong (Tien Giang delegation) said:

Regarding the method of trading drugs through e-commerce platforms as stipulated in Article 42, establishments that have been granted a certificate of eligibility for pharmaceutical business are allowed to trade drugs through e-commerce methods through: Websites, sales applications installed on the establishments' electronic devices; electronic trading floors licensed by the industry and trade sector (not allowed to be carried out on social networking platforms, online livestream), specifically as follows:

Drug manufacturing, import-export and wholesale establishments are allowed to sell drugs via e-commerce for drugs within their business scope; retail establishments are allowed to sell drugs on the list prescribed by the Ministry of Health that are allowed to be sold via e-commerce and in accordance with their business scope;

Post product information without having to seek confirmation from the regulatory agency, including: Drug packaging, drug instructions in accordance with the information content on the approved drug instructions and drug labels.

Scene of the group discussion session on the afternoon of June 18.

"I think that allowing the sale of drugs via e-commerce needs to be very tightly controlled. The goal is for people to be able to buy drugs easily and safely, with a doctor's prescription and full pharmaceutical advice, for the right person, the right disease, and to monitor adverse drug reactions (ADRs), in addition to other issues such as drug recalls, etc.," said Mr. Duong.

The draft stipulates that retail establishments are allowed to sell drugs on the list prescribed by the Ministry of Health that are allowed to be sold via e-commerce and in accordance with the scope of business.

If it is a pharmacy in a chain that shares a website, how do people determine where to sell? In principle, wholesale companies (with GDP) are not allowed to sell retail to the public. The delegate said that this issue needs to be clarified when a business has a retail chain that sells drugs to the public, because it is related to the responsibility of each entity when handling the case.

Counterfeit goods sold on the internet are a problem that is being widely reported today. Therefore, the authorities are facing great difficulties because it is difficult to handle in real life, and even more difficult to detect and handle violations in cyberspace. The delegates requested the Drafting Committee of the Law to have clearer and stricter regulations on this new business method.

"Medicine is a special commodity, so participating establishments in e-commerce must meet the conditions for pharmaceutical business and can only sell drugs in the non-prescription list," said Mr. Duong .

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/de-nghi-quy-dinh-trach-nhiem-bo-y-te-trong-viec-thuoc-ban-online-a668935.html