CURRENT ISSUES OF HEALTH SUPPLY DISCUSSED IN ALMATY

On July 14, a working trip of the Chairman of the Board of SK-Pharmacy LLP Erkhat Iskaliyev to Almaty took place. The main purpose of the trip was to discuss topical issues of drug supply and equipping medical organizations with medical equipment with the deputies of the city mayor and local medical assets, as well as visiting a number of facilities.

On the agenda, the parties locally touched upon such aspects as drug accounting, accounts receivable and the application campaign for 2024. During the discussion, problematic aspects of the medical supply system were voiced. This includes non-procurement of drugs due to the lack of offers from potential suppliers, as a result of which there are interruptions in supplies.

The Chairman of the Board explained that the Single Distributor is making every effort to solve such problems. Thus, medicines are shipped from the carry-over balance, and issues of repeated procurement procedures are being comprehensively worked out.

A separate topic during the conversation was the record keeping of medicines. In terms of improving the existing system for the procurement of medicines and medical devices, an electronic platform is being implemented that allows extracting data in an automated format.

In order to digitalize drug supply and improve the IT infrastructure of the Single Distributor, work is underway to consolidate balances at the level of medical organizations, improve and automate the planning processes for medicines by medical organizations, as well as fully automate procurement procedures. To date, the Concept for the Development of Information Systems of the Single Distributor has been developed and approved.

An important point in the entire system of drug supply is the correct planning and development of applications by medical organizations. Recall that medical organizations themselves determine their need for the names of medicines, volumes and delivery schedule. The purchase and supply of drugs by the Single Distributor is carried out on the basis of these applications.

In connection with the upcoming application campaign for the next year, the country's medical organizations have already partially begun to form their forecast needs for 2024. So, it was voiced that it is necessary to take a responsible attitude to the development of applications and determine your need for medicines.

The main conditions for the purchase of medicines are the delivery schedule and the need for the availability of medicines in the warehouses of the Single Distributor in December. Shipment to polyclinics and hospitals will begin in January 2024. Thus, the country was provided with medicines in advance.

The single distributor prioritizes the quality and safety of medicines provided to Kazakhstani medical institutions by increasing the requirements for suppliers, including using such feedback tools as “yellow cards”. If an adverse reaction or its ineffectiveness in the treatment of a disease is detected, patients should contact their doctor to fill out a yellow card-message on the website of the Center of Expertise https://www.ndda.kz/. All received cards are subject to careful analysis.

Equipping medical organizations in the region with medical equipment remains a key issue. For high-quality treatment of patients, it is necessary to equip medical institutions with modern diagnostic and treatment-and-prophylactic equipment through the effective functioning of the medical equipment market and the availability of a list of conscientious suppliers.

In this vein, the issue of filing applications for medical equipment was raised separately. Through the single distribution system, the purchase of medical equipment is carried out centrally. The function of the Single Distributor, as a procurement operator, is not only to conduct procurement, but also to consider customer applications for the completeness of the submitted package of documents and the compliance of the expert opinion. If a complete package of documents is submitted and the technical specification of the customer corresponds to the expert opinion, then the Single Distributor conducts a tender procedure.

Particular attention was paid to the issue of receivables, which is an important financial component of the Single Distributor, since the purchase is carried out in advance - drugs for the next year are purchased in the current year. Accordingly, this directly affects the entire system of medical provision of the population of the country.

Within the framework of the meeting, the medical activists of Almaty voiced questions and proposals aimed at improving the city's medical supply system. Summing up the event, the Chairman of the Board of the Single Distributor thanked all the participants for their interest and noted that each initiative will be considered individually.

Also, from the side of the Single Distributor, it was proposed to conduct an excursion for health workers to local domestic production sites that produce medicines and medical devices.

In conclusion, the parties expressed their readiness to work closely together to achieve the tasks set. In addition, the head of the Single Distributor noted the potential of the southern capital of the country and the important role of the city in the overall infrastructure of the country.