Dr. Duong Duc Hung, Director of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, said that basically, the regulations and guidelines related to the procurement and bidding of drugs and medical supplies in recent times have resolved some previous difficulties. There are even regulations that are a major step forward, such as not necessarily purchasing goods at the lowest price. The new regulations include criteria for quality and origin, helping hospitals choose good, genuine goods at reasonable prices and in compliance with the law.

According to Mr. Hung, the most difficult time for the hospital has passed, the bidding packages have results and the hospital has also called the suppliers.

Regarding treatment drugs, Mr. Hung affirmed that there is no shortage of treatment drugs for patients, but the general situation of many public hospitals is that there is a shortage of drugs that have no substitute (bioequivalent drugs) and cannot be purchased.

"Albumin and Gamma Globulin are examples because when bidding, no company or distributor participated in the bidding, so we could not purchase them. Meanwhile, this type of medicine is very necessary in clinical practice, for seriously ill patients. At Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, the number of organ transplant patients who need this medicine is very high, but the inpatient pharmacy does not have it, so we have to buy it from outside. Previously, the shortage of inpatient pharmacy was filled through the hospital pharmacy system," Mr. Hung cited.

Regarding the complaints of many people who have to wait a long time to schedule surgery, Mr. Hung said that the objective difficulties of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital are also the difficulties of many medical examination and treatment units. The hospital has also analyzed the subjective causes and proactively made adjustments.

"We are a tertiary hospital, receiving patients from all over the country, but the number of beds is limited. When supply and demand change, waiting times for surgery have to be extended. All operating rooms in the hospital have to operate at full capacity, and doctors have to operate until 9-10 pm. I think the quality of medical examination and treatment must be respected, and we cannot reduce quality because of time or quantity," said Dr. Hung.

To regulate the scheduling of surgeries for patients, Dr. Duong Duc Hung said that by May 2024, when there is a circular guiding the purchase of new drugs, hospitals will begin to prepare documents for purchase.

Mr. Hung cited that for a surgical hospital like Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, anesthesia is an important and irreplaceable drug. Every day, the hospital has about 300 scheduled surgeries and 30-40 emergency surgeries, meaning the demand for this drug is very high. Without anesthesia, not only scheduled surgeries but also emergencies cannot be performed.

When the bidding process is delayed (the entire system is delayed), the hospital cannot borrow anesthesia drugs from other places. Therefore, in parallel with working day and night to prepare the bidding documents, the hospital is forced to regulate so as not to interrupt the supply of drugs while waiting for the drugs to be called.

Therefore, for patients who need immediate surgery, the hospital will still ensure maintenance. Some other surgeries such as screw removal, cosmetic surgery... can be delayed.

Regarding the difficult situation of pharmacies in public hospitals due to new regulations on bidding and procurement, Mr. Duong Duc Hung said: "Currently, pharmacies in all public hospitals are facing many difficulties."

Pharmacies not only sell medicines but also medical supplies. For example, when a patient is discharged from the hospital, he needs a wooden crutch, but it is very difficult to develop technical criteria for this material for bidding.

In addition, bandages, antiseptic gauze, and nutritional milk for patients must be managed by the pharmaceutical system and sold at pharmacies, not in canteens.

The viewpoint of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital is not to support the purchase of drugs from outside for use in the inpatient system, because the hospital cannot control the quality of the drugs. If the drugs have been bid, purchased and imported through the hospital's pharmacy system; the pharmacy is part of the pharmacy system, then the hospital is responsible for the quality of the drugs.

Therefore, current purchasing regulations are causing difficulties in meeting the purchasing needs of non-inpatients or partially inpatients.

"We have reported that difficulty to the competent authority and hope that the opinions of the facility, not only Viet Duc Friendship Hospital but also many public hospitals, will be quickly resolved to improve the quality of patient service," said Mr. Hung.