Issuance of Decree 24 to surmount the obstacles in the bidding process in the healthcare sector in Vietnam
Does the new Decree providing guidance on contractor selection bring about changes to surmount obstacles in the bidding process in the healthcare sector? Thank you!
Is it possible to be directly appointed for the contract in cases of urgent drug shortages without going through the bidding process in Vietnam?
According to Article 94 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP, the bidding packages are directly appointed in cases of urgent, emergency medical care, and epidemic prevention and control to ensure that hospitals can immediately purchase drugs to serve their operations without having to undergo time-consuming bidding procedures.
Furthermore, regarding centralized drug procurement, in order to address the previous situation where only one contractor was awarded the contract to supply a large quantity of drugs with a wide delivery scope, leading to instances where the contractor lacked the capacity to fulfill the contract, Decree 24/2024/ND-CP has added provisions that allow for multiple contractors to be selected. If the first-ranked contractor is unable to provide the drugs, the investor can immediately sign a contract with the next-ranked contractor.
The investor is allowed to invite bids in a manner that allows contractors to submit offers based on their supply capacity, without necessarily having to comply with the exact quantity of drugs specified in the bidding documents.
Issuance of Decree 24 to surmount the obstacles in the bidding process in the healthcare sector in Vietnam - image from internet
Is the investor allowed to select the highest bid that is suitable for financial capacity and professional requirements in the healthcare sector in Vietnam?
According to Clause 2 Article 16 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP, the price of bidding packages and the time for selecting contractors are as follows:
Price of bidding packages and the time for selecting contractors
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2. Price determination:
The price of the bidding package is established based on one of the following information:
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d) At least one quotation for goods or services; encouraging the collection of more than one quotation; in the case of multiple quotations, the average price of the quotations is taken.
For bidding packages related to the procurement of drugs, chemicals, medical equipment, components, accessories, and replacement materials used for medical devices, based on professional requirements, the investor decides on the technical criteria and organizes the quotation collection. The investor publishes the quotation requirements on the National Bidding Network System or on the electronic portal or electronic information page of the investor or the Ministry of Health or the online public service portal for medical equipment management, for a minimum of 10 days from the date of successful publication. In the case of two or more quotations, the investor is allowed to select the highest bid that is suitable for financial capacity and professional requirements. The investor is responsible for collecting quotations in a transparent and public manner. The supplying entity is responsible for providing information on the price of goods or services that is in line with its supply capacity and must ensure that the quotation does not violate competition laws, engage in price manipulation, or price gouging.
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From this, collecting quotations is one of the seven bases for determining the price of bidding packages. Specifically in the healthcare sector, if there are multiple quotations, the investor can choose the highest bid that is suitable for financial capacity and professional requirements as the price for the bidding package.
For other sectors, only the average value of the quotations is used as the price for the bidding package.
What are responsibilities of the Ministry of Health and the cases where hospital directors are allowed to make procurement decisions without being required to organize bidding processes in Vietnam?
According to Clause 1 Article 82 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP, the responsibilities of the Ministry of Health are as follows:
Documentation, procedures, and selection of contractors in special cases under Points a, b, c, and Clause 1, Article 29 of the Bidding Law
1. Regarding the provisions under Points a and b, Clause 1, Article 29 of the Bidding Law:
a) The agency or unit assigned by the Minister of Health shall prepare the documentation for submission to the Minister of Health for consideration and decision on the selection of contractors in special cases.
b) The Minister of Health assigns the relevant agency or unit to review before consideration and decision-making.
c) The documentation for review and approval of the selection of contractors in special cases includes a proposal and related documents and materials. The proposal for the approval of the selection of contractors in special cases includes the following contents: basic information about the project, procurement estimate, and bidding package (project name, procurement estimate, bidding package; funding sources, total investment of the project, value of the procurement estimate, price of the bidding package; expected implementation time; other necessary contents); explanation of the necessity and specific conditions regarding one or more aspects of the process, procedures, criteria for selecting contractors, contract signing conditions, contract implementation conditions, and other conditions (if any) that prevent the fulfillment of the contractor selection conditions specified in Articles 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 of the Bidding Law; draft plan for the selection of contractors including the following main contents: process, procedures for selecting contractors; contract signing conditions, contract implementation, and other related contents to meet the specific conditions of the bidding package, project, ensuring the selection of contractors with sufficient capacity, experience, feasible and efficient implementation solutions.
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According to the new regulations, the responsibilities of the Ministry of Health are clearly stated as follows:
- Issuing templates for the selection of contractors for pharmaceuticals.
- Providing guidance on principles, criteria, and compiling needs to establish a centralized procurement drug list.
- Setting deadlines for compiling the drug list, timeframes for issuing the list; estimated timeframe for conducting contractor selection, estimated timeframe for publicizing information on framework agreements and contracts in centralized procurement.
Furthermore, according to the provisions of the Bidding Law 2023, there are cases where hospital directors are allowed to make procurement decisions without necessarily organizing bidding processes. These regulations include allowing bid invitations to specify the origin of goods for selecting goods of good quality; applying the option of additional purchases to immediately acquire goods without the need for bidding; negotiating prices, and centralized procurement of rare drugs or drugs needed in small quantities.
Best regards!
