Opportunities and Challenges for Drug Procurement under the Government Procurement and Supplies Management Act, B.E 2560: Case Study of Sakon Nakhon Province

Abstract

Objectives: To study drug procurement, opportunities and challenges in drug procurement under the Government Procurement and Supplies Management Act, B.E 2560 within public health service units in Sakon Nakhon Province. Method: This study analyzes policies by researching documents collected from public sources and related laws and regulations. Analysis of 5 groups of stakeholders affected by drug purchases of public health service units was conducted by in-depth interviews with those involving in drug procurement, and focus group discussion among those providing pharmacy services, those selling drugs to public health service units, service users needing continuous drug treatment, and general population in Sakon Nakhon. Later, the information was synthesized into policy suggestion according to conceptual model of the expectation among beneficiaries of public procurement in terms of transparency, technical ability, information technology and leadership. Results: Drug procurement in transition was not well prepared in terms of personnel, information systems and legal interpretation. Purchasing information in the e- Government Procurement (e-GP) on the website of the Comptroller General's Department can be verified by the public. Purchasing drugs under the new Law entailed many advantages over that under the previous one. However, with haste to enforce, there was unclear understanding of some rules. In terms of information, the e-GP system was not ready and unstable. In term of the leadership, the Department monitored the implementation of the law and, when practice inconsistency was found, the Department issued the orders with clear interpretation of the rules, and relaxed the mandated timeframe to record drug information in the system. The study proposed that the Department that E-GP system should be improved to become more stable, and having additional channels for data entry other than the website of the Department. The Ministry of Public Health (MOPH) should urgently issue a drug procurement policy in line with the new Law so that drug procurement of all service units was consistent. Moreover, the MOPH should drive the formulation of regulations more specific for drug-purchasing. Government should set the path for career progression of the personnel in medical supply management to improve their morale. The MOPH shall announce the policy for increasing efficiency of drug procurement by group purchasing at the regional or provincial level by the method of selection in the case of drugs with multiple vendors/manufacturers, and the specific method in case of few vendors/manufacturers. Drug selection should take into account price, along with other criteria, to ensure access to the same quality and standard of medication at an affordable price, to facilitate the patient refer between the service units, and to create transparency and accountability as intended by the Law. Conclusion: The study found challenges in drug procurement according to the new Law and gave suggestion for improving the implementation of the law.