VietNamNet Bridge – Spending for medicines accounts for 60 percent of the total medical
expenditures. Owing to gaps in management of medicine price and filling
prescriptions, medicine expenditure has become a burden for Vietnamese
patients.
On June 8, Ms. Quynh from Dong Da district, Hanoi went
to St. Paul Hospital for a check-up. After paying VND70,000 ($3.5) of fee, she
was examined. The doctor said that she suffered from stomach pain and wrote out
two kinds of medicines for her, totaling VND300,000 ($15). The expenditure for
medicines is four times more than the examination fee.
At the Central Pediatrics Hospital in Hanoi, parents
of a child patient named Nguyen Van Nguyen from Hung Yen province had to pay
VND1.6 million ($80) just to buy cod-liver oil and tonics to supplement
calcium, iron and vitamins after the child was diagnosed to be mentally retarded.
There are
prescriptions with over ten kinds of medicines, worth hundred USD.
According to a report from the Vietnam Drug
Administration, per capita spending on medicine has increased highly in recent
years.
In 2001, it was $6/person. The figure rose to $6.7 in
2002, $13.39 in 2007 and $27.6 in 2011. The Vietnam Drug Administration said
that the number will be $33.8 in 2014.
Medicine prices vary
The prices for medicines are chaotic. The same
medicine has different prices at different drugstores and medicine prices are
many times higher than the original prices.
For example, Meroprem active element imported from
Uruguay by the Bach Mai Hospital and Central Hematology and Blood Transfusion
Hospital in Hanoi is priced at VND650,000/unit ($32) while the same product,
imported by the Vietnam-Cuba Dong Hoi Hospital in Quang Binh province is priced
VND730,000/unit ($36).
Another medicine, Inimod 30g is priced at
VND11,490/tablet ($0.6) at the Hue Central Hospital and VND9,930/table ($0.45)
at the Huu Nghi Hospital.
According to VietNamNet’s information, this medicine
is imported into Vietnam at the price of VND2,000/pill ($0.1).
According to a market survey conducted by the Vietnam
General Association of Medicine and Pharmacy in June, the average price
increase on domestic drugs was higher than on their foreign counterparts.
As per the survey, the price on domestic drugs had
increased by 5 to 10 percent, much higher than that on foreign drugs.
For instance, among 4,664 varieties of local drugs, 28
saw a surge of 9.37 percent in price
while 32 foreign drugs leaped only by 6.4 percent.
More noticeable were six domestic drugs that reduced
by 3.11 percent while 15 imported counterparts went down by 7.3 per cent.
The association forecasts an increase in price on both
domestic and foreign medicines in July due to rise in raw material for
production and other manufacturing costs.
Concerning the abuse of drugs issued to health
insurance holders, the Vietnam Insurance Company has just sent an official document
to its local sub-divisions asking to strictly monitor payment of these drugs,
namely, Glutathion for injection and for oral use; Glucosamin for oral use; and
Arginin for oral and Onithin-L-arpartat for injecting.
As many local medical centers have misused these drugs
in prescription for patients with insurance cards, the central insurance
company will only pay when these drugs are prescribed for patients’ ailment.
Ngoc Anh
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