The Ministry of Health acts as both importer of medicine and its price manager, which has led to several inadequacies, said the minister.
This is the first time the Minister of Health, Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, has answered the NA’s questions on the issue
Minister of Health, Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, admitted as much, at a National Assembly (NA) questioning on November 13.
During the session, questions and answers focused on several pressing issues concerning the country’s health sector, including medicine prices, medical fee hikes and gender inequity.
NA deputy, Pham Xuan Thuong, from Thai Binh Province, said drug prices at hospitals are much higher than market rates, which has a negative effect on people and poses a risk to medical insurance.
Tien said this is one of the major concerns for the sector as a whole. She attributed the problem to the medicine distribution process.
“Pharmacological firms often co-operate with doctors, who get commissions for prescribing expensive foreign drugs. The auction process currently used has shown to be inadequate. State management has been lax," she admitted.
She put much of the blame on the issuance of Circular 10 for fostering exaggerated prices of medicines, that did not reflect real market rates.
Deputy Truong Van Vo from Dong Nai Province said the situation has worsened since August due the lack of strict punishments.
Tien responded that the ministry has made efforts to deal with problem. They have required classifications of medicines based on their origins, while requesting market prices are taken into consideration.
The ministry has also been coordinating with the Ministries of Industry and Trade, and Finance, as well as foreign consulates in the country to make a list of 17,000 prices for medicines, depending on their country of origin.
She said that despite taking drastic measures, it was still hard to ensure transparency at all stages. The ministry expects a law on pharmaceuticals to be drafted, which will hopefully help the situation.
Deputy Chu Son Ha, from Hanoi, addressed the risk of pharmaceutical companies importing large amount of pseudoephedrine (PSE) or other drugs that could be used for illegal drug production.
Tien said that last August eight enterprises denounced the Drug Administration of Vietnam for having licensed a private company in HCM City to import a large amount of PSE. However, Government Inspectorate and the Ministry of Public Security conducted an inspection and found no wrongdoings.
“This is a serious issue, and the responsibility should not only lie on the ministry but needs collaboration from the Ministry of Public Security and local authorities,” she said.