Guidance from the Ministry of Health of Vietnam on Procurement of Medicines, Laboratory Supplies, and Medical Equipment

Ministry of Health of Vietnam guides the Procurement of Medicines, Laboratory Supplies, and Medical Equipment

To ensure the uninterrupted procurement of medicines, laboratory supplies, and medical equipment, the following actions can be taken by agencies and units:

- Approve the contractor selection plan for the package under open bidding, negotiate pricing with the option to purchase up to an additional 30% of the quantity of the corresponding item stated in the contract. In this case, the package price does not include the value of the projected additional purchase; the implementation of the additional purchase option is governed by Clause 8, Article 39 of the Procurement Law 2023 and Decree 24/2024/ND-CP;

- Organize contractor selection in the current year for procurement in the subsequent years as stipulated in Clause 5, Article 16 of Decree 24/2024/ND-CP (e.g., in August 2024, agencies and units can organize contractor selection for packages supplying goods, services, and construction for the years 2025, 2026). In this case, the document presenting the contractor selection plan must project the procurement budget for subsequent years as the basis for determining the package price;

- Organize contractor selection with contract execution periods longer than one year as prescribed in Clauses 1, 2, Article 37, and Clause 3, Article 39 of the Procurement Law 2023 (e.g., agencies and units can organize contractor selection for packages supplying medicines, testing supplies, and medical equipment for the years 2025, 2026). In this scenario, funding sources can be determined based on the procurement budget of the current fiscal year and the projected procurement budget of the upcoming fiscal years.

Additionally, the Ministry of Health of Vietnam provides the following guidance on the procurement of laboratory supplies and medical equipment:

The formulation, appraisal, and approval of the contractor selection plan; preparation, appraisal, and approval of bidding documents, request for proposal documents; evaluation of bid dossiers, proposal dossiers; and appraisal, approval of contractor selection results shall follow the guidelines detailed in Circular 06/2024/TT-BKHDT and Circular 07/2024/TT-BKHDT issued by the Minister of Planning and Investment of Veitnam.

For detailed content, refer to Official Dispatch 3314/BYT-KH-TC dated June 17, 2024.

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