DOHA: Faced with a continuing shortage of several life -saving medicines in the local market, leading private hospitals are seeking permission from the authorities to import medicines directly.
Currently supply of medicines in the country is channelised through the licensed dealers under supervision of the Supreme Council of Health (SCH). Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) also imports medicines for the public healthcare facilities and has exclusive rights to bring some rare medicines.
Officials of several hospitals and clinics say that they have been forced to rely on the HMC for several life saving medicines since the private dealers are not interested to import them in bulk due to the relatively low demand.
Private hospitals are allowed to bring some medicines for emergency but the procedures are lengthy and complicated, they say. They are calling on the authorities to review the entire system for importing medicines to support the private sector.
The issue has now cropped up with a surge in the number of patients at private clinics and hospitals with implementation of the national health insurance scheme (Seha). A number of citizens now prefer the private facilities to the public hospitals and health centers since they can avail of their services under insurance cover.
“Suppliers don’t have enough stocks of some medicines because they don’t import them in bulk. HMC occasionally provides medicines to private hospitals but not in sufficient quantities,” a local Arabic daily quoted Dr Mohammed Al Emadi, director of Al Emadi Hospital as saying.
“The problem has been existing for long and we have been asking the Supreme Council of Health to intervene and find a solution,” he added.
Dr Abdul Azeem Abdul Wahab, Medical Director, Al Ahli Hospital, said there is a shortage of some life-saving medicines in the market. “We rely on HMC for such medicines but it won’t have enough stocks. Mostly it says stocks are barely enough for HMC hospitals,” he said.
Dr Osman Al Sayed, Medical Director, Doha Clinic, said there has been a shortage of some children’s medicines and those used for anaesthesia. “Parents are annoyed when we tell them medicines are out of stock. But this is not our mistake.
“There should be an easy mechanism to open the door for private sector to import medicines directly so that they don’t have to go to HMC or dealers or wait for approvals to bring medicines from abroad,” said Al Sayed.
The Peninsula
