Shocked by the audit results of medical supplies price differences at hospitals

According to the audit, there is a difference of 6.7 times in the price of medical equipment and supplies (1 butterfly needle at Viet Duc Hospital is 1,090 VND and at Cho Ray Hospital is 7,350 VND).

The State Audit's report on thematic audit of investment, procurement, management and use of medical equipment (MT) in 2015 shows that the Ministry of Health as well as most of the audited localities have not developed medium-term and long-term plans for investment in procurement of MT to serve as a basis for determining the annual equipment procurement needs.

In particular, regarding bidding, specific documents on bidding for medical equipment have not been issued, especially the work of developing and approving bidding plans for purchasing chemicals and consumables, which still has many shortcomings.

Just 01 butterfly needle but the price is different at different hospitals

Approved planned prices between hospitals are mostly different for the same type of material or chemical from the same supplier and there is a huge difference between the highest and lowest approved prices.

Prices of supplies at hospitals, some types are 6.7 times higher

Regarding materials, there is a difference of 6.7 times (1 butterfly needle at Viet Duc Hospital is 1,090 VND while at Cho Ray Hospital it is 7,350 VND); 1 serum infusion line at Bach Mai Hospital is 3,675 VND while at Viet Duc Hospital it is 18,000 VND...

Regarding chemicals, there are types with a price difference of 5.8 times (01 box of Series Retic Pak reagen kit, 1x380ml+1,900ml, National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion 16,718,000 VND, Thong Nhat Hospital 2,874,375 VND); 3.1 times (01 box of Cleaning Solution (Clean A), 1x500ml Cho Ray Hospital 1,597,000 VND, Viet Duc Friendship Hospital 5,067,000 VND); 3 times (01 box of Diff Timepac, 2x2075ml: National Institute of Hematology and Blood Transfusion 42,607,000 VND, Cho Ray Hospital 14,163,950 VND).

The State Audit also pointed out that the construction of the planned procurement price is based on the price appraisal certificate for items that do not need to be appraised and does not consider the case where some contractors quote prices lower than the appraised price.
In particular, through audit, the bidding package caused a loss of 10.77 billion VND, the State Audit recommended recovering it to the state budget.

Regarding the management and use of medical equipment as fixed assets, through audits at the Ministry of Health, it was found that some units used medical equipment ineffectively because the purchasing needs were not determined to be suitable to the infrastructure and human resources conditions, such as: Central Geriatric Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City Hospital of Odonto-Stomatology, Viet Duc Hospital, Central ENT Hospital, Central Dermatology Hospital.

Some units have equipment that has not yet expired but is broken and cannot be used, such as: Thai Nguyen Central General Hospital has S510 Colin child monitor, thyroid concentration meter, Siemens X-ray machine, pediatric monitor; Hanoi Central RHM Hospital has Autoclave; Central Tropical Hospital has TagMan PCR-Roche system, high-frequency X-ray machine system, Konica digital X-ray system...;

The audit results of 11 provinces and cities show that: 1,225 equipment are broken or have low efficiency with an original price of 371,836 billion VND; many newly invested equipment have not been put into use or have broken down after being put into use.

Along with that, many newly invested equipment have not been put into use or have broken down as soon as they were put into use, such as: in Hai Phong City, the Preventive Medicine Center has 02 equipment (Furnace, Chemical Safety Fume Hood) provided by the ADB project under the Department of Preventive Medicine in 2011, which at the time of the audit were still kept in the office, used as a document cabinet.

In Can Tho, Thot Not District General Hospital has 01 Automatic Hematology Analyzer Model MS9-3s (delivered in December 2014); Can Tho Hospital has 01 X-ray machine for measuring osteoporosis (from ODA project, delivered in 2009) both of which have been faulty and broken since being put into use and are currently in stock.

In Binh Duong province, there are 34 devices of Ben Cat and Thuan An town medical centers that were granted in 2010, 100% new, but have not been used due to unsuitability or lack of demand.

In An Giang, 133 devices at 09 health centers have not been put into use from the investment source purchased from the project to build district health centers and the project allocated by the Ministry of Health.

In Kon Tum, the medical waste incinerator of the 3,157 billion VND Provincial General Hospital cannot operate because the incinerator technology does not ensure environmental conditions...;
In Dak Nong, the Department of Health has 02 Olympus CX22LED dual-eye microscopes in the set of tools and equipment for culturing, examining and isolating bacteria, 01 Global 240 automatic 35-parameter biochemical analyzer (purchase price 850 million VND) that have not been used since the handover, and are still in storage;

Gia Lai Province, some equipment was provided but in reality the Hospital did not need to use it so it had to be returned to the Department of Health (Tuberculosis and Lung Disease Hospital)...

Thus, the thematic audit of investment, procurement, management and use of medical equipment shows that the same type of medical supplies can have prices that differ from 3 to nearly 7 times between hospitals.

What does the Ministry of Health say about the audit results?

In another development related to the results of the thematic audit of investment, procurement, management and use of medical equipment in 2015 at a number of medical examination and treatment facilities, on the evening of May 24, the Department of Medical Equipment and Construction (Ministry of Health) sent an official dispatch signed by Mr. Nguyen Minh Tuan, Director of the Department, to units under the Ministry requesting clarification of the above information.
The Ministry of Health (Department of Medical Equipment and Construction) requests that units review, inspect, and evaluate the current status of organization, management, bidding, procurement, and exploitation of medical equipment (equipment, chemicals, and medical consumables) at their units.

Explain and clarify the responsibilities of relevant individuals and groups, promptly correct and handle violations if any. Pay special attention to specific cases mentioned by the State Audit Office.
The Ministry of Health requests the Hospital Director to urgently implement the above contents and send a report to the Ministry of Health (Department of Medical Equipment and Construction) on May 29, 2017 for synthesis and reporting to the Minister for consideration and timely direction of resolution./.

According to VOV