Limiting risks in medical equipment procurement bidding

SGGP 07/10/2023 05:35

After more than a week since Circular No. 14/2023/TT-BYT took effect, many hospital leaders said that it has helped to completely overcome difficulties and problems in bidding and equipment procurement...

Doctors at Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital take MRI scans for patients

After more than 1 week of Circular No. 14/2023/TT-BYT (stipulating the order and procedures for developing bidding packages for the procurement of goods and provision of services in the field of medical equipment at public medical facilities) taking effect, many hospital leaders said that it has helped to completely overcome difficulties and problems in bidding and procurement of medical equipment and supplies at hospitals; bringing the highest quality health care services to patients.

According to Dr. Tran Van Khanh, Director of Le Van Thinh Hospital (HCMC), Circular 14 solves the biggest "bottleneck" in bidding for medical equipment procurement, which is the regulation that the lowest price must be purchased. Allowing "choosing the highest price" will solve many problems for hospitals. "In addition, Circular 14 also states that suppliers will be responsible for the price they offer," Dr. Tran Van Khanh informed.

Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Xuan Co, Director of Bach Mai Hospital, said that this is an important legal document to guide hospitals in purchasing medical supplies and equipment. “ The Government has considered and approved an emergency financial source of VND 1,000 billion for the hospital to purchase and bid for medical equipment. Therefore, as soon as Circular 14 was issued and took effect from the beginning of July 2023, the hospital urgently developed a plan, implemented bidding, purchased emergency equipment, and supplemented machinery and components to replace damaged equipment,” Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Xuan Co informed and said that in the immediate future, the hospital will be able to purchase basic medical equipment to serve medical examination and treatment.

However, many hospital leaders believe that the circular was issued to institutionalize Resolution 30 of the Government, which is effective for a very short time - until the end of 2023, so this is only a temporary solution, only for some hospitals that have pre-planned procurement projects. According to Dr. Nguyen Minh Tien, Deputy Director of the City Children's Hospital, in the long term, the medical sector needs a circular that is sustainable and solves the problem more fundamentally. Along with that, if we want to limit the risk in bidding for medical equipment, it requires the board of directors of hospitals to have strict regulations in bidding.

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/han-che-rui-ro-trong-dau-thau-mua-sam-thiet-bi-y-te-post696756.html