When million-dollar PET/CT machines sit idle.

In recent days, the PET/CT scanning system (a modern diagnostic imaging method) in the South has been completely paralyzed as the Cyclotron accelerator at Cho Ray Hospital has stopped working. This is the only supplier of 18F-FDG radioactive tracer in the South, serving PET/CT techniques for three public hospitals: Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City Oncology Hospital, and Military Hospital 175.

This situation is not surprising as it was predicted many years ago. It's not uncommon for cancer patients to wait 2-3 weeks for their turn to get a PET/CT scan. What is surprising is that, besides Cho Ray Hospital, there is still another facility in Ho Chi Minh City capable of producing the radioactive isotope 18F-FDG that is unable to operate. This is the branch of Rang Dong Medical Joint Stock Company in Thu Duc City, which received a 200 billion VND investment for the production of radioactive isotopes and began trial operation in 2019.

After one year, the factory's operations were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. By 2022, an inspection team from the Ministry of Science and Technology concluded that the company was not operating in accordance with the Law on Management and Use of Public Assets.

In 2023, Rang Dong Medical Joint Stock Company's Ho Chi Minh City branch was fined 160 million VND by the Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health and ordered to destroy 70 vials of 18F-FDG because the drug had not been granted a registration certificate for circulation. The company was also temporarily suspended from producing 18F-FDG.

From 2021 to 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health repeatedly petitioned the authorities to remove legal obstacles to bring the company's factory into operation, easing the burden on Cho Ray Hospital. However, nothing has changed.

To meet the PET/CT scanning needs of cancer patients, Ho Chi Minh City needs to be equipped with three Cyclotron linear accelerators. Currently, with the only Cyclotron machine down, the multi-million dollar PET/CT systems are also sitting idle. This is an unacceptable waste!

Of course, PET/CT scanning is a superior diagnostic imaging option, but it's not the only one for cancer patients. Doctors won't abandon diagnosis and treatment just because of equipment failures, but it's clear that patients' rights have been severely affected.

To cling to even the slightest chance of survival, many patients in the South have to fly to Hanoi, Da Nang, or even abroad to get PET/CT scans and then bring the results back to their treating doctors. Waste in the healthcare sector causes severe damage not only economically but also leads to prolonged resentment and erodes public trust.

In the near future, the pressure on Ho Chi Minh City's newly merged healthcare sector will become even heavier and more complex. Therefore, thoroughly resolving the issue of radioactive drug supply is a pressing matter!

GIAO LINH

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/khi-may-petct-trieu-do-trum-men-post800876.html