covered by health insurance has helped save 251.13 billion VND (10.9 million
USD) on drugs, said Duong Tuan Duc, director of the Centre for
Appraisal and Multi-level Payments in the North under Vietnam Social Security.
The
total price of 20 bid-winning drugs was 935.99 billion VND (40.7 million USD),
down 21.12 percent compared to the average drug bidding price of last year.
In
the fourth quarter of last year, Vietnam Social Security invited bids to select
2018’s drug suppliers of five active substances with total value of more than 1
trillion VND (43.5 million USD).
Five
patent medicines and 15 types of generic drugs won the bidding.
The
bidding helped reduce drug prices by 13.82 percent on average for patented
medicines and 33.81 percent for generic drugs compared to the prices of
provincial bidding in 2017.
Among
the five winning patent medicines, the prices of Meropenem 500mg and Meropenem
1g experienced the biggest plunge (15 percent).
Notably,
price of domestically-manufactured Levofloxacin 500mg (generic) of group 3
(manufactured following the World Health Organisation’s Good manufacturing
practice) plunged by 54.7 percent.
The
centralised bidding shattered the concept that patented drugs are exclusive and
their prices never fall, Duc said.
In
the first ever national trial centralised drug bidding, the Vietnam Social
Security worked with the ministries of planning and investment, health,
finance, local health departments and healthcare facilities covered by health
insurance, Duc said.
Bidding
winners committed to ensuring drug quality and supply to serve patients, he
said.
Through
the bidding, Vietnam Social Security contributed to removing inappropriate drug
bidding plans and identifying abnormally high drug prices, as well as
differences in content and prices of drug groups.
Vietnam
Social Security asked bidders to show documents to prove their drug supply
commitment. The agency will supervise drug supply and use them at healthcare
facilities via the health insurance supervision information system.
Pham
Luong Son, deputy director general of the Vietnam Social Security, said that
the bidding was conducted successfully, following regulations, ensuring
transparency.
“National drug bidding brings advantages to
not only Vietnam Social Security but also public and healthcare facilities,” he
said.
He
said that the bidding has fulfilled two goals. The first is to ensure enough
of high quality. The second one is to reduce drug prices, especially the
price of patent medicines.
If
there is anything found not transparent and open in the bidding process, those
responsible will be fined without exception, he said. – VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
