The technical work table to solve the shortage of medicines in the country held its third work meeting this Monday, March 14, from which two short-term recommendations were given to President Laurentino Cortizo, which seek to resolve the lack of medicines in pharmacies and hospitals.
The members of the technical table for medicines approved the proposal of Vice President José Gabriel Carrizo, to recommend to President Cortizo that by Executive Decree he regulates the procedure for the acquisition of medicines in case of critical shortages; and it will also be suggested to the Chief Executive that Panama join the Regional Medicines Observatory, through the United Nations Office.
Enrique Lau Cortés, director of the Social Security Fund, explained the first recommendation: “When the Social Security Fund or the Ministry of Health are short of medicines that the population requires, and we do not have them available in the country, it will be carried out a procedure that will allow them to be acquired wherever they are”, he said.
Carrizo pointed out that “the regulation through the Executive Decree must be done as soon as possible so that once the critical shortage is established, it goes on to purchase the required medicines, that would help speed up the purchase process and avoid shortages.”
Regarding the Observatory of Regional Medicines, the Vice President of the Republic considers that “it is a tool that will allow us to analyze drug prices in a practical and reasonable way, make price comparisons for the entire sector and thus the acquisition is more competitive” .
“This observatory records the prices of medicines in 21 countries in the region,” explained the Minister Counselor for Health, Eyra Ruiz. “This will allow us to negotiate, with data, the prices in tenders and in international purchases.”
This technical table was installed on February 21 and is under the coordination of the Vice President of the Republic and Minister of the Presidency.
The authorities reported that all sectors related to the issue are represented at this technical work table.
