Ministries to probe high medicine prices

The Health Ministry has requested that the Finance Ministry have more oversight over the increasingly high price of medicine in the country.

The health ministry’s Drug Administration said price management should be under the Finance Ministry, while technical and production control under the Health Ministry.

Speaking at a conference in HCM City on Tuesday, Truong Quoc Cuong, the Administration’s Director, said administrative interference could not stop price hikes and that hikes were subject to market forces.

Nguyen Van Tien, Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly’s Social Affairs Committee, said rising prices were affecting the poor’s ability to pay.

“The price of medicine is in some cases 20 times higher than its production expenses, and responsible agencies must take action to stop this,” Tien said.

Prices of imported medicine are influenced by the distribution chain and the fluctuation of foreign currency value.

Le Thanh Liem, Director of southern Long An Province’s health department, was one of several department heads who criticised the Health Ministry for poor management.

He said the same medicine could vary in price from VND400 to VND8,000 per tablet.

To comply with the laws on medicine, Cuong said the health ministry should draw up a list of 22,000 medicines and set the maximum prices.

The two ministries have set up a price list for three kinds of medicine, but it has not been applied. Cuong declined to elaborate on the shortcomings of the list.

Pham Khanh Phong Lan, Deputy Director of the HCM City Health Department, said domestic production had the capacity to produce high quality medicine, but international brands remained competitive.

“This is one reason for the failure in price management,” Lan said.

Participants at the conference said the ministry should invest more in developing domestic production of medicine.

Cuong said it was important to find more suppliers and improve control of distributor chains and dealer sales at stores and hospitals.

VIETNAMNEWS

Tags: Vietnam medicine prices