The Prime Minister directed the implementation of solutions to ensure adequate medicine and medical equipment.

The Prime Minister directed the implementation of solutions to ensure adequate medicine and medical equipment for medical examination and treatment for people.

The content of the telegram is as follows:

In recent times, the Government and the Prime Minister have directed ministries, branches, localities, agencies and units to urgently purchase and supply sufficient medicines and medical equipment for medical examination and treatment. However, there is still a situation where many public medical examination and treatment facilities at the central and local levels lack medicines and local medical equipment, affecting the guarantee of people's rights when examining and treating patients.

To ensure adequate medicine and medical equipment for medical examination and treatment for people, the Prime Minister requests:

1. Ministries, ministerial-level agencies, government agencies, People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities, based on their assigned functions, tasks and powers, shall promptly inspect, grasp the situation, promptly guide and direct medical facilities under their management to resolutely implement necessary solutions to ensure adequate medicine and medical equipment for medical examination and treatment for the people and be responsible to the Government and the Prime Minister.

2. Medical examination and treatment facilities shall increase their responsibility, initiative and flexibility in planning procurement, bidding and organizing solutions to have enough drugs and medical equipment for medical examination and treatment activities; promptly report to competent authorities about difficulties and problems in procurement, bidding and supply of drugs and medical equipment.

Promote the highest sense of responsibility, dare to think, dare to do in organizing procurement and bidding to ensure publicity, transparency, science, efficiency, avoid waste and strictly implement regulations on preventing and combating negativity, corruption and group interests.

3. The Ministry of Health is responsible for:

a) Urgently issue documents under authority or submit to competent authorities for issuance to promptly remove difficulties and legal problems in the procurement and bidding of drugs and medical equipment, focusing on completing and submitting to the Government for issuance of a Resolution amending and supplementing Resolution No. 144/NQ-CP dated November 5, 2022 on ensuring drugs, medical equipment and payment of medical examination and treatment costs under health insurance.

b) Review and minimize cumbersome administrative procedures that cause inconvenience and difficulty in the implementation of procedures for purchasing drugs, equipment, and biological products for medical examination and treatment; speed up the process of granting circulation licenses for drugs and medical equipment; create the most favorable conditions for businesses trading in drugs and medical equipment to comply with the law.

c) Coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance to promptly guide units, medical facilities, and localities to implement legal documents related to the procurement and bidding of drugs and medical equipment according to their authority to completely resolve the shortage of drugs and medical equipment in a number of medical examination and treatment facilities in the first quarter of 2023, avoiding the situation of pushing, avoiding, and prolonging the refusal to take responsibility.

d) Urgently review and specifically evaluate the receipt of used medical machinery and equipment donated, given, contributed, sponsored, or aided by organizations and individuals for medical facilities to use for medical examination and treatment; on that basis, coordinate with the Ministry of Finance and relevant ministries and agencies to propose specific solutions to put these equipment into use to avoid wasting resources, and report to competent authorities for consideration and decision.

4. The Ministry of Planning and Investment is responsible for:

a) Promptly and thoroughly guide units and localities to implement legal documents related to bidding for drugs and medical equipment according to their authority, focusing on guiding contractors to be allowed to supply machines to medical examination and treatment facilities after winning the bid for materials and chemicals.

b) Preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Public Security and relevant ministries and agencies to guide the establishment of planning prices for procurement and bidding to ensure convenience for medical facilities and ensure publicity and transparency.

c) Coordinate with the Ministry of Health to develop regulations on bidding for drugs and medical equipment in the Bidding Law project to ensure compliance with the characteristics of the health sector.

5. The Ministry of Finance is responsible for:

Urgently review, amend, supplement or issue new documents on management and use of public assets and use of funds from the state budget to purchase drugs and medical equipment according to authority or submit to competent authorities for issuance according to regulations; especially issues on: developing procurement estimates and revenue and expenditure estimates.

6. The Ministry of Information and Communications directs press agencies to report and reflect on drugs, biological products, medical supplies, and human resources at hospitals to ensure accuracy, timeliness, honesty, objectivity, appropriateness, and effectiveness.

7. The Ministry of Health shall coordinate with relevant ministries, branches and localities to monitor and urge ministries, branches, agencies, units and localities to implement this Official Dispatch, promptly report to the Prime Minister on any problems and focus on leading, directing, organizing implementation, and overcoming the shortage of drugs, biological products, supplies and medical equipment to serve medical examination and treatment for people in March 2023./.