Patients buy drugs at a drug store in Bach Mai Hospital in Hanoi. The PM also called on the health sector to clearly define theroles and responsibilities of relevant ministries, sectors and agencies to fixthe issue.
PM Chinh said that regulations cannot cover all aspects of life asthere are often fast, unpredictable and unprecedented developments.
Therefore, he said that the ministries, sectors and localitiesmust update the situation and timely make policy responses so as to not affectpeople's health and socio-economic activities.
He also directed the Ministry of Health and the Ministry ofFinance to propose amendments to regulations on bidding and procurement ofdrugs, medical equipment and supplies to create favourable conditions forlocalities to actively buy the most cost-effective medical equipment, not justthe cheapest.
Currently, shortcomings in legal mechanisms and a lack of lawprovisions on bidding are blamed for a prolonged shortage of drugs and medicalequipment in medical facilities in the country.
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Bao, Deputy Director of the National Centre forCentralised Drug Procurement, spoke with Kinhte & Do thi (Economic and Urban Affairs) online newspaper aboutthe organisation of bidding and procurement of drugs and medical equipment atfacilities that are still facing problems.
About 90 per cent of legal documents fail to keep up with the realsituation. Bao added that bureaucracy is one of the reasons for the currentshortage of drugs and medical supplies.
Nguyen Huy Quang, former Director of the Legal Department underthe Ministry of Health, said many enterprises are not interested in bidding tosupply drugs and medical equipment to facilities because the price of drugs isnow very high, and they cannot earn profits.
Deputy Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Lien Huong said the globalsupply chain is broken, and the prices of input materials are increasing. Theyare believed to be the reasons for the shortage of drugs and medical equipment.
Besides, some countries have applied anti-inflation measures,which have also affected the supply and prices of drugs, equipment and medicalsupplies, she said.
She said that the health ministry has proposed short- andlong-term solutions to solve the shortage of drugs and medical equipment.
The short-term solution is that the ministry is speeding up thelicensing process for drug and medical equipment procurement; accelerate theprogress of drug bidding packages; amend relevant documents under theministry's authority, she said.
In the long term, the ministry is proposing amendments andsupplements to the Law on Medical Examination and Treatment, the Law on HealthInsurance, the Law on Medical Equipment and the Law on Pharmacy, she added.
Prolonged shortages
Data from the Ministry of Health showed that 28 out of 34 healthdepartments and 12 out of 21 central-level hospitals nationwide face shortagesof drugs; 26 out of 34 health departments and 15 out of 21 central-levelhospitals reported a shortage of medical consumables and chemicals.
Head of the Vietnam Social Security's Department of HealthInsurance Implementation, Le Van Phuc, said the lack of drugs and medicalsupplies in hospitals is directly affecting patients.
He said there would be many issues, such as whether or not thequality of drugs and medical supplies outside the hospital is guaranteed whenpatients have to buy drugs and medical supplies by themselves.
In addition, the price of drugs is also different in other drugstores.
These things affect the interests of the patients, he said.
Nguyen Cong Huu, Director of Hanoi-based E Hospital, said thecurrent shortage of drugs and medical supplies had caused public concern. Thelack of drugs and medical supplies not only affects patients but also affectshospitals' revenue.
Bach Mai Hospital has a great demand for drugs, medical equipment,and supplies as the hospital receives many patients every day.
However, statistics from the hospital show that 18 companies thatwon bids to provide drugs and medical supplies to the hospital have failed tosupply enough drugs and medical supplies to meet demand.
In Ho Chi Minh City, representatives of 25 drug suppliers and 33public health units recently pointed out difficulties in bidding for drugsupply.
For example, many regulations need to be clearer and consistent.Meanwhile, there needs to be adequate drug price management regulations toprevent prices from being distorted./.
VNA
