On August 23rd, 2017 at the ordinary meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine the Concept of Reforming the Mechanisms of Public Procurement of Medicines and Medical Products was approved.
The concept was developed by the Working Group of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine composed of representatives of government, public and international organizations and other experts, including Dmytro Aleshko, partner, and Alexander Bondar, senior associate of Legal Alliance Company.
The document provides for the establishment of a centralized procurement organization (hereinafter referred to as the CPO), which will procure medicines and medical products at the national, local and international levels.
According to the Concept, full transition to procurement of medicines and medical products by the CPO should take place as early as 2019. By that time, it is expected that the proper material and technical base of the CPO will have been formed and developed, pilot procurement will be held, etc.
The government instructed the Ministry of Health to develop and submit for approval a plan of events to implement the Concept within a month.
Alexander Bondar, senior associate of Legal Alliance Company, commented on the Government's decision as follows: “The approval of the Concept by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine is an important step forward in the field of reforming public procurement of medicines and medical products, creating a qualitatively new approach to procurement. Successful implementation of the Concept should lead to maximum reduction of corruption risks, transparent procurement and rational use of budgetary funds by “professionalizing” procurement activities, aggregating procurement volumes, optimizing the procurement process and building a system of accountability to the public. This will allow, on the one hand, for providing patients with necessary and high-quality medicines and medical products on time, and on the other hand, for saving budget funds. However, so far, significant, but only the first step in this direction has been taken. There is still a lot of work ahead. Let's hope that the planned will be successfully implemented.”
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