Ministry of Health of Vietnam to deploy procurement of drugs, testing supplies, and medical equipment

Ministry of Health of Vietnam to deploy procurement of drugs, testing supplies, and medical equipment (Internet image)

On June 17, 2024, the Ministry of Health issued Official Dispatch 3314/BYT-KH-TC regarding the implementation of procurement of drugs, testing supplies, and medical equipment by the Ministry of Health.

Ministry of Health of Vietnam to deploy procurement of drugs, testing supplies, and medical equipment

To ensure uninterrupted procurement of drugs, testing supplies, and medical equipment, the Ministry of Health has provided the following guidelines:

- Approve the contractor selection plan for wide-ranging bidding packages, negotiate prices with an option to purchase up to 30% additional quantity of the corresponding item specified in the contract. In this case, the bidding package price does not include the value of the additional expected purchase; the application of the additional purchase option is carried out according to the provisions in Article 8, Clause 39 of the Bidding Law and Decree 24/2024/ND-CP.

- Organize contractor selection within this year for procurement in subsequent years as stipulated in Article 5, Clause 16 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP (for example: in August 2024, agencies and units may organize contractor selection to implement procurement packages for goods, services, and construction in 2025, 2026).

In this case, the contractor selection plan document must include an estimated procurement budget for subsequent years as the basis for bidding package pricing.

- Organize contractor selection with a contract execution period longer than 1 year according to the provisions in Clauses 1, 2 of Article 37 and Clause 3 of Article 39 of the Bidding Law (for example: agencies and units may organize contractor selection to implement procurement packages for drugs, testing supplies, and medical equipment for 2025, 2026). In this case, the funding can be determined based on the procurement budget of the budget year and the estimated procurement budget of the subsequent budget years.

For the procurement of testing supplies and medical equipment: The preparation, appraisal, and approval of the contractor selection plan; the preparation, appraisal, and approval of the invitation to bid dossier, the requirements dossier; the evaluation of the bidding dossier, the proposal dossier; and the appraisal and approval of the contractor selection results are carried out according to the guidelines in Circular 06/2024/TT-BKHDT and Circular 07/2024/TT-BKHDT of the Minister of Planning and Investment.

For the procurement bidding of drugs: the preparation, appraisal, and approval of the contractor selection plan; the preparation, appraisal, and approval of the invitation to bid dossier, the requirements dossier are carried out according to the guidelines in Circular 04/2024/TT-BYT, Circular 05/2024/TT-BYT, and Circular 07/2024/TT-BYT of the Minister of Health.

The evaluation of the bidding dossier, the proposal dossier; the appraisal and approval of the contractor selection results are carried out according to the guidelines in Circular 07/2024/TT-BKHDT of the Minister of Planning and Investment.

In case of difficulties or obstacles in implementing Decree 24/2024/ND-CP, Circular 05/2024/TT-BYT, and Circular 07/2024/TT-BYT, it is requested that agencies and units report to the Ministry of Health for guidance.

For the procurement of drugs for retail at pharmacies within public healthcare facilities:

The selection of contractors for drug supply at retail pharmacies within public healthcare facilities is carried out according to the provisions in Article 16 of Circular 07/2024/TT-BYT. Specifically:

- For drugs in the list of drugs covered by health insurance for eligible individuals according to the regulations of health insurance laws, public healthcare facilities may procure them through one or more of the following methods:

+ The province aggregates the quantity of drugs needed for retail sales into the quantity of drugs to be procured through bidding, prepares the contractor selection plan, and organizes contractor selection according to the regulations.

+ Separate the quantity of drugs needed for retail sales into one or more bidding packages, prepare the contractor selection plan, and organize contractor selection according to the regulations. When applying one of the contractor selection methods stipulated in Clause 1 of Article 20 of the Bidding Law, healthcare facilities must ensure compliance with the conditions and procedures for contractor selection according to the regulations of the Bidding Law, Decree 24/2024/ND-CP.

In this case, healthcare facilities must note that the winning bid for drugs for retail sales must not exceed the winning bid for drugs with the same active ingredient, concentration, dosage form, and the same trade name as the drugs that have won the bid and are supplied at that healthcare facility (including centralized procurement drugs and negotiated procurement drugs).

- For drugs not falling under the provisions of this point, public healthcare facilities decide on procurement based on ensuring transparency, efficiency, and responsibility without being required to comply with the Bidding Law, Decree 24/2024/ND-CP, and Circular 07/2024/TT-BYT.

For the consolidation of local procurement needs and centralized procurement of local-level drugs:

According to the provisions of the Bidding Law, Decree 24/2024/ND-CP, Circular 04/2024/TT-BYT, and Circular 07/2024/TT-BYT, healthcare facilities under the Ministry of Health and healthcare facilities under subordinate units of the Ministry of Health are allowed to independently select contractors in accordance with the bidding regulations for drugs that are not included in the national centralized procurement drug list and the negotiated price drug list.

However, in the case where these healthcare facilities have the need to procure drugs from the local centralized procurement drug list, they can negotiate with the Local Procurement Unit to consolidate the procurement needs of the healthcare facilities into the local centralized procurement drug package.

The approval of the Local Procurement Unit, Department of Health, and People's Committee of provinces and centrally-run cities to consolidate the drug procurement needs of healthcare facilities under the Ministry of Health and healthcare facilities under subordinate units of the Ministry of Health into the local centralized procurement drug package is fully compliant with the bidding regulations and does not require approval from the Ministry of Health.

Furthermore, healthcare facilities under the Ministry of Health and healthcare facilities under subordinate units of the Ministry of Health can use the results of wide-ranging bidding by the Local Procurement Unit to directly procure drugs in accordance with the provisions of Article 25 of the Bidding Law and Article 80 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP for drugs included in the local centralized procurement drug list.

More details can be found in Official Dispatch 3314/BYT-KH-TC, dated June 17, 2024.

>> CLICK HERE TO READ THIS ARTICLE IN VIETNAMESE