Peking University. Beijing. May 4, 2010: On April 25, the annual PKU Guanghua Health Economic Forum was held, focusing on the new medical reform and medicine bidding policy. More than 400 people attended the forum, including central ministerial and local governmental leaders, who are responsible for nationally essential drugs, medical monitoring, pharmaceutical distribution policy development and implementation, scientific research institutions and the pharmaceutical industry representatives.
Since the CPC Central Committee State Council issued "Views on Deepening the Views of Medical and Healthcare System Reform" in April 2009, the State healthcare reform has entered the implementation phase, which is a gradual implementation process starting with several local pilots. Among several urgent reforming issues, prescribing violations and drug-sale-depended doctor salary system have been the two major problems for years, largely restricted the sound development of medical and health sector in China.
Forum moderator Prof. Liu Guo en said that the Guanghua School of Management first pointed out that we should look at the existing healthcare system from a public policy and system perspective, in order to investigate whether the current system contradicts to the rational choices and motivations of most medical workers, thus resulting in an inevitable lose-lose outcome, rather than a win-win one.
Prof. Ke Yang, executive vice president of Peking University, deputy director of the Department of Medicine, said that as a public welfare, the key element of healthcare system is health insurance, which is now reflected by the current governmental healthcare investment. She believes that designing a proper compensation and charging system is most crucial to the healthcare reform.
John Langenbrunner, a World Bank representative and chief health economist says that there is still much room for China to improve its pharmaceutical expenditure. He recommends the Chile's electronic bidding system, a possible approach for China to increase its transparency and lower costs.
Zheng Hong, director of the Department of Pharmaceutical Policy and Essential Medicine System, said in his keynote address, aiming to clear many companies queries concerning bidding, this year the Department will put efforts into regulating purchases of essential medicines based on the working requirements of the State Council Leading Group Office, in order to gradually achieve a flat price rate in the same province (autonomous regions and municipalities), as well as ensuring the quality and supply of essential drugs.
Wang Xun, deputy director of the Department of Planning and Finance of Ministry of Health, who is responsible for centralized drug purchasing policies, points out that a centralized purchasing medical drugs norms and centralized procurement of medical institutions, pharmaceutical supervision and management measures will be introduced in May, in order to further improve the centralized procurement of medicines around the country, at the same time regulating the conduct of related personnel, enhancing the expert management, and expanding the area and the scope of centralized procurement.
Chen Wenling, director of the Research Office of the State Council, believes that bidding is not the only problem concerning the circulation of medicine; we should also inquire into seven other theoretical issues in depth, for instance the public goods, quasi-public goods and market goods issue. She also puts forward two basic ideas: firstly, we should establish and rebuild modern medicine and modern market and distributing system; secondly, we should begin to idea innovation, methods and institutional mechanisms, to address the deep-seated contradictions and problems in healthcare reform.
Zhang Zongjiu, the supervisor of the Department of Medical of the Ministry of Health, made a speech about the nine major reform measures of public hospitals, and he also stressed the important role that economic evaluation of drugs plays in clinical pharmacy.
Wang Shengli, the director of the Market Supervision of Ministry of Commerce, gave a speech on the main duty of the Ministry of Commerce in the management of drug distribution, and the importance of establishing a fair and efficient distributing system. He believes that sustained development of the industry has great significance in protecting people's health rights, promoting the conduct of the healthcare reform, increasing domestic demand and promoting consumption and employment and the maintaining social stability.
In order to better address the hot and difficult issues, a "round-table dialogue" was also held in the afternoon session of the Forum. The Dialogue invited keynote speakers and special guests to communicate face to face with the other forum participants. Yu Mingde (President of China Pharmaceutical Enterprises Association), Hu Shanlian (professor of Fudan University), Wang shan (President of PKU Peolple s Hospital), Guan Zhiqiang (Vice Chairman of China Society for Pharmacoeconomics) were among the guests.
For more details, please follow the link below:
http://money.163.com/special/00254C6G/2010bdws.html
Translated by: LI Xiaomeng
Edited by: Jennifer Yan
Source: PKU News (Chinese)
