KUALA LUMPUR: The Health Ministry’s decision to replace the use of decade-long concessions to purchase, store, and supply pharmaceutical products to government health facilities with an open tender system gets the thumbs-up of an industry player.
Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy viewed the move as a positive development in the government’s commitment towards reforms in the public healthcare sector. “The challenge now faced by the government is how to implement a smooth transition without causing massive disruption to the drugs and medicines being supplied under the Approved Product Purchase List (APPL) and the logistics framework for essential health supplies to the public healthcare system in general,” said Galen Centre for Health & Social Policy chief executive Azrul Mohd Khalib in a statement yesterday.
Azrul Mohd said it is not true to say that our healthcare system is too fragile and cannot survive without depending on one single company such as Pharmaniaga taking such a dominating role.
Azrul believed that by opening up the tenders, the heavy responsibility of providing such mission-critical support can also be shared with other logistics service providers.“Competition has the potential to drive prices lower, improve cost effectiveness and encourage innovation. Let’s not be afraid of competition and good governance.
“Pharmaniaga’s track record will undoubtedly put it at a significant advantage in a merit-based system. I have no doubt that this government-linked company will continue to play a major role in the Malaysian healthcare landscape for many years to come.”
Azrul also feels that in the short term, the prices of existing drugs and medical supplies are unlikely to be significantly affected by this move. He said what is important is to be able to remove dependence on tender agents acting as middlemen within the procurement process, and charging a commission for their services. He insisted that open tenders and allowing suppliers to negotiate and bid directly with the government could result in savings for the government. Besides, he said, it could also lower prices, increase cost effectiveness and for newer therapies to be made available for patients.
