Vietnam Gov’t Official Urges Stringent Regulations for Healthcare Procurement
At a meeting in Hanoi on February 21, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha emphasized the importance of the hospital council in determining the technical specifications, quality, and efficiency criteria for medicines, materials, and medical equipment, which serve as the basis for selecting procurement bid prices, local media reported.
Deputy PM Ha stated the decree, when issued, must create consensus and promptly address practical challenges. Procurement of medical contractors must be tightly managed, with strong decentralization to ensure safety and prevent corruption, waste, and inefficiency.
To address consulting and bidding assessment difficulties, Mr. Ha highlighted the need for clear regulations to mobilize and encourage the participation of legally established entities and organizations. In cases where no consulting or bidding assessment entities are available, the investor will set up bidding consulting and assessment teams.
Regarding the decentralization of medicine procurement bids, he emphasized the centralized bidding method as an effective, necessary, transparent approach to providing the public with access to new, quality, and affordable drugs.
He added that commonly used drugs in large quantities will be included in the centralized bidding list at both national and local levels, while rare and specialized drugs will be maximally decentralized to hospitals.