Increase drug supply for medical examination and treatment

Faced with the situation that 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, drug shortages have had a significant impact on the quality of medical examination and treatment. Many patients have had to go out to buy drugs, spending their own money to buy drugs that are 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 drug supply, including the demand for use in medical examination and treatment facilities and in the market. However, there are times when some drugs have not had time to renew their registration; some drugs in the very rare group are still lacking local sources.

The Ministry of Health admits that the shortage of medicines 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 facilities in planning and placing orders with suppliers, especially for rare medicines, medicines with limited supply, and specialized medicines that depend mainly on foreign production facilities.

Besides, medical facilities and localities have not been 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 seeking 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 purchase immediately.

To effectively implement the Law on Bidding, the Ministry of Health has recently issued 4 circulars based on a synthesis of difficulties and problems 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 the lack of drugs, supplies and equipment locally at medical facilities; the existence and limitations in contractor selection 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 regulation and wording in the circular that needs to be explained more clearly to make it easier for hospitals to purchase.

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