Director of Nghe An Department of Health: The situation of 'brokers' selling medicine and medical supplies in hospitals is very offensive
Affirming that there is a situation of "brokers" for medicine and medical supplies in hospitals, Director of Nghe An Department of Health Le Thi Hoai Chung said that this is a very offensive issue and hopes that all levels and sectors will pay attention to it and work with the health sector to rectify it.
On December 6, at the 25th Session, the 18th People's Council of Nghe An province questioned the situation of drug supply and health insurance medical examination and treatment services for health insurance patients, especially patients with serious illnesses and poor patients, ethnic minority and mountainous areas.
Ms. Le Thi Hoai Chung - Director of the Department of Health answered questions.
Local shortage of drugs and medical supplies, "brokers" right in the hospital
Questioning the commander of the health sector, delegate Que Thi Tram Ngoc (Quy Chau unit) said that the implementation of technical expertise development at health facilities in mountainous areas is not commensurate with the needs of the people. Therefore, the delegate asked the Director of the Department of Health to clarify the causes and solutions in the coming time.
In addition, delegate Ngoc also requested the industry to clarify the cause and solution for the situation of buying antibiotics without prescriptions that still occurs frequently at pharmacies in the province.
Responding to the delegate's question, Director of the Department of Health Le Thi Hoai Chung affirmed that the implementation of specialized medical examination and treatment services in mountainous areas still has a gap with the plains and cities, but this is not an exception in Nghe An province but a common situation in the whole country.
The reason, according to Ms. Chung, is that investment in facilities, equipment and efficiency of use still has many problems. If left for a long time, they will break down and deteriorate, so investment must be synchronous.
Besides, there is the difficulty in human resources, from the leaders to those directly performing medical examination and treatment duties. Currently, the general trend is that many students after graduation choose to work in big cities, convenient locations for work.
Regarding solutions in the coming time, the Director of the Department of Health said that it is necessary to invest in facilities and equipment. To use equipment, it is necessary to pay attention to investing in human resources by training on-site through satellite projects, line guidance, online consultations...
Delegate Hoang Lan (Nghi Loc unit) said that at some public medical facilities, patients have health insurance cards but doctors prescribe drugs and supplies from outside for treatment, affecting the right to health insurance examination and treatment. Therefore, I would like to request the Director of the Department of Health to inform us about the current situation and whether the solutions proposed by the industry can resolve the above situation?
Director of the Department of Health Le Thi Hoai Chung said that although there are regulations on prescribing and selling drugs, people often have the habit of going to the pharmacy to buy them. Using drugs like that is very dangerous in the short and long term for people and the health sector. Drug stores have not strictly implemented the regulations.
In the coming time, the solution is to change the awareness of people and pharmaceutical practitioners; have sanctions to inspect, control, and strictly punish violations.
Regarding voters' feedback that some hospitals' pharmacies still lack medicine and basic medical supplies, and there is a situation of drug brokers in hospitals, delegate Le Van Luong (Tuong Duong unit) asked the health sector to express their views and propose solutions to resolve the issue in the coming time.
Responding to this content, Ms. Le Thi Hoai Chung said that there is still a local shortage of drugs and medical supplies in some hospitals. In 2024, 8 units reported drug shortages with a total of 379 missing items, accounting for 2.97% of the 2024 bidding plan.
The main reason is that there are many items that cannot choose contractors. Conflicts in some parts of the world and some factors disrupt the global supply chain of goods leading to a breakdown in the supply of raw materials.
Affirming that there is a situation of "brokers" for drugs and medical supplies in hospitals, calling this an offensive issue, the Director of the Department of Health said that he had discussed this issue with the police. The industry also hopes that all levels and sectors will pay attention to rectifying this situation.
"In the Project to build smart hospitals, the industry wants to have a room in each hospital to transmit patient information to relatives, in order to limit visits in the hospital to ensure security and order in the hospital. At the same time, choose the most effective bidding method to reduce the shortage of drugs and medical supplies," Ms. Chung proposed a solution.
Want an independent inspection agency
Questioning about the issue of connecting medical examination and referral by health insurance card, delegate Trinh Van Nha (Thanh Chuong unit) said that this still has many difficulties and problems and suggested what viewpoints and solutions the health sector has to overcome them in the coming time?
Responding to the question of delegate Nha, the Director of the Department of Health said that this is done according to the regulations of the Ministry of Health and Social Insurance, and there have been many guiding documents. In fact, the policy of medical examination and treatment by health insurance for people is increasingly being paid attention to and creating more fairness.
However, according to Ms. Chung, many people want to transfer to another hospital for non-professional reasons, which causes a waste of time, effort, and money for society and also overloads upper-level hospitals.
The solution in the coming time to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment is to increase explanations to reassure patients and their families; increase patient satisfaction; and overcome negative situations in referrals.
Delegate Lu Thi Khuyen (Con Cuong unit) pointed out the chaotic situation of advertising drugs and functional foods that is very common on social networks, which has the risk of negatively affecting people's health and economy; and requested the Director of the Department of Health to propose solutions in the coming time.
Regarding this question, Director of the Department of Health Le Thi Hoai Chung said that currently, many people when having symptoms do not go to medical facilities for examination but go to social networks to find and buy medicine. Controlling on social networks is very difficult, because it is difficult to identify violators, because there are many virtual subjects; not to mention the low compliance with regulations in advertising.
According to the Director of the Department of Health, the solution is to strengthen the management of advertising issues, strictly handle violations; have a department to monitor and review regularly. In particular, strengthen propaganda to raise people's understanding and awareness, when sick, go to the hospital to be examined and treated with the right medicine for the right disease.
Delegate Lo Thi Kim Ngan (Thanh Chuong unit) said that, in the past time, although the Government and the Ministry of Health have issued many documents to amend, supplement, and remove obstacles and difficulties, the Social Insurance agency has been slow in paying and settling health insurance payments, causing difficulties in medical examination and treatment. So, the delegate asked, what measures and solutions does the industry have to overcome this situation?
Responding to the question of delegate Ngan, Director of the Department of Health Le Thi Hoai Chung said that the payment of health insurance in recent years in the province has been carried out a lot. However, at times, in some places, medical facilities still have a situation of delay in payment of medical examination and treatment costs using health insurance cards, in which the reason is that the guidance documents are not clear, so there are contents that are not consistent between the health sector and social insurance.
Emphasizing the very strict payment conditions, the Director of the Department of Health said that the appraisal is carried out by the social insurance agency and the wish of the health sector is to have an independent appraisal agency like an arbitrator to appraise more objectively, clarifying issues that the two parties have not agreed on.
