The Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) procured medicines worth over QR558m last year, while drugs costing about QR45m have been prescribed by the HMC hospitals and primary health centers in the country every month, says a senior HMC official.
HMC currently has a stock of medicines worth QR562m, according to statistics available until July 31, this year.
HMC is responsible for procuring and distributing medicines that are required by all its hospitals, besides the primary health centers as well as the clinics functioning at several government and semi-government entities such as Qatar Petroleum and the Ministry of Interior facilities.
HMC distributes medicines to a total of 45 health care facilities in the country. Last year, medicines worth a total of over QR484 m were dispensed to patients on prescriptions from these facilities, Khalid Al Qahtani, assistant executive director of the supplies and equipment department at HMC said in an interview with Al Sharq.
He said the new law that seeks to liberalise imports and sale of medicines in the country was not likely to have a major impact on HMC. There are two types of medicines procured by the HMC- those commonly required by all health care facilities in the country as well as some special medicines that are brought in on demand to cater to certain categories of patients. “We make sure that enough stocks of all necessary medicines are available in the country. We refresh the stocks continuously ,” said Al Qahtani.
HMC currently has stocks of 1,600 types of medicines. This list is constantly revised to meet the new requirements of the country by a special panel comprising representatives from different HMC departments. HMC imports medicines directly from the manufactures or their authorised agents. The cost of medicines vary from QR1 to QR500,000 or more.
The highly expensive medicines are procured through a unified public bidding issued by the GCC countries so that they could be purchased at relatively low prices.
Vaccines and some of the medical equipment are also procured in this manner. “Expatriates who are getting medicines from the HMC facilities and the primary health centers are paying only 20 per cent of the cost,” said the official.
The Peninsula