Several public hospitals in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have complained of drug shortages. Hanoi-based Bach Mai Hospital, one of Vietnam’s largest hospitals, reports a shortage of antidotes, and the Central Hospital of Dentistry and Stomatology reports anesthesia, which is used in more than 70% of its outpatient services. They complain about shortages of medicine.
The drug shortage has been attributed to delays in extending drug registration and the Covid-19 pandemic over the past two years.
Problems with the bidding process and several scandals in the medical sector where people have been prosecuted have also caused hospital leaders to hesitate in preparing procurement and bidding plans.
Revision of the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law
Deputy Health Minister Do Xuan Tuyen believes the 2016 Pharmaceutical Affairs Law needs to be amended to decongest public hospital drug tenders.
He said that Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificates and drug registration certificates should automatically scale with international practices. Otherwise, companies will face difficulties in material imports, which will hinder the production, distribution and supply of medicines.
Noting that 10,000 drug registration certificates will expire by December 31, 2022, Tuyen said drug shortages are inevitable unless regulations on automatic renewals are amended.
The Standing Committee of the National Assembly discussed the revision of the tender law at its session on September 20, pointing out the difficulties of organizing tenders for the supply of drugs and medical equipment. He said the tender law needs to be revised to ensure that the medical sector can procure medical equipment and medicines.
National Assembly Speaker Vuong Dinh Hue called for clarifying some issues in drug bidding, particularly the regulation that “pharmaceutical prices this year must be lower than the previous year”. If so, I wondered if the regulations were appropriate.
Three months ago, President Nguyen Xuan Phuc referred to a “crisis in the health sector”. In a working session with the medical sector and relevant ministries, Prime Minister Pham Min Chin concluded that hospitals should purchase medicines at reasonable prices, not at the lowest prices.
Recently, at the meeting of the National Steering Committee on Covid-19 Prevention and Control on 13 September 2022, Prime Minister Chin again stressed that shortages of medicines, bio-products and medical devices should not persist for a long time. I said no. Procedure and irresponsibility.
“Put aside those who don’t want to.”
Ensuring access to branded medicines
In Vietnam, after the regulations on tendering of drugs were issued, the tendering of branded drugs, mainly with the highest quality, safety and efficacy, was regularly mentioned.
This indicates that doctors and patients have the right to access branded medicines in accordance with the law on medical testing and treatment.
According to IQVIA, branded medicines make up 11% of all prescription drugs used (this figure averages 27.1% in the Asia-Pacific region).
Factory prices for branded medicines in Vietnam are currently the lowest in ASEAN and continue to fall due to price negotiations. About two-thirds of brand-name drugs in use today have expired copyright protection.
In general, brand-name drugs cannot be reissued once their copyright protection expires. Generic drugs are bioequivalent. Therefore, bidding together with Group 1 generics will not be price competitive.
Therefore, it is difficult to obtain branded drugs at clinics and drugstores. As a result, patients have no access to good medicines and doctors have no chance to improve their knowledge of modern medicine, said his medical policy guru Pham Khanh Phong Lan. .
This leads to the risk of branded drug smuggling that is difficult to control.
Under current regulations, brand-name drugs are listed on the medical facility’s drug procurement list. However, the Ministry of Health (MOH) is still amending the regulations and it is unclear whether it will keep the bidding package for branded drugs.
Van Tien
.
