Thousands of drugstores in HCM City could be suspended

Thousands of drugstores may have to suspend operations in HCM City if they do not connect to the national in April (Source: VNA)

HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Thousands of
drugstores may have to suspend operations if they do not connect with the
national drug supply chain management system this month.

The helps to control
the supply of medicine and the sale of drugs that must have prescriptions from
a doctor.

With more than 6,000 drugstores, Ho Chi Minh
City has the largest number of drugstores in the country. However, since March
26, only 61 percent of drugstores in the city have connected to the management
system.

According to the city’s Department of Health,
from April 1, that have not connected to the system will have
operations suspended.

Tang Chi Thuong, Deputy Director of the city’s
Department of Health, said the department had asked all drugstores in the city
to connect with the system before March 31.

The system is part of an important mission being
undertaken as part of the sixth plenum of the Party Central Committee’s
resolution on the improvement of people’s health.

Information about drugs on the market, including
quality, source and price, is available in the system, and local residents will
be able to check the origin of medicine as well as expiration dates.

According to the Ministry of Health, the system
has updated a list of 52,000 out of 60,000 medicines, helping to identify the
origin of the medicines. New information is being updated to the system every
day.

Through the system, prescriptions at hospitals will
be recorded so that manufacturers as well as import and export companies will
be aware of what is being sold and if there is a shortage or surplus.-VNS/VNA