New drug purchase system for GMCs in State may prove fatal


By Vikas Vaidya

The new experiment by Maharashtra Government of handing over the drug purchase to Haffkine Bio Pharmaceutical Limited  Corporation has failed completely. The new system came into existence a year ago but it could not finalise the modalities of procurement of medicines for its hospitals till now. The patients across the State are suffering. The Deans of all GMCH have borrowed medicines from the drug companies and the dues have reached in crores. The GMCHs are running on saline with little medicines in their kitty. The highly placed sources told ‘The Hitavada’, the main role was played by Public Health Department of Maharashtra that brought Haffkine in, the institute actually was in bad state.
Post controversy over procurements of medicines, Government had named a committee headed by former Director General of Police (DGP) Praveen Dixit to work out the new norms. Dixit got to bottom of the entire matter and ensured that every purchase was justified. But Government disbanded the Dixit-led committee.
By issuing Government Resolution (GR) in August 2017 Government asked Haffkine Institute to carry out the bulk purchases of medicines required for the public hospitals in the State and it instructed all the GMCHs not to purchase medicines or surgical items on their own. The total budget of the medicines of all 16 GMCs of State is above Rs 250 crore. With the August GR the drug purchase of all GMCHs came to halt.
Bringing Haffkine was also not the major problem. The problem is about the mechanism. The new body dropped the idea of Rate Contract (RC) and brought Quantity Contract (QC). In Rate Contract, the Department did not have to do tendering every time as the company was finalised on the basis of rate. Now in QC, once the Department purchases certain quantity of certain item, the contract ends and again the process of tendering need to be done. In QC the process becomes tedius.
The sources pointed out another loophole in the mechanism that is in the billing system. The Haffkine purchases the item so the drug companies issue the bill in the name of Haffkine. DMER route out the money through GMCH Deans. Now according to procedure Deans have to submit the bills with Treasury. Since the bills are not in the name of Deans, Treasury refuses to accept the same.
Haffkine does not purchase the medicines till it gets money and GMCHs are facing the problems as DMER is facing financial crunch. On the contrary, Public Health Department has huge budget of Centre and State so it has given money immediately to Haffkine and purchased the drugs and surgical items.
With hospitals running out of medicine stock, the patients are being asked to procure medicines from open market which is a Herculean task for the masses. Government might have taken a just stand to weed out irregularities in bulk purchase of drugs but its own internal contradictions is playing out resulting in creating a mega mess.
As the money for purchasing the medicines was not handed over to Haffkine Institute, considering the patients’ needs, GMCHs had to borrow medicines from the companies.
Recently, Maharashtra Government gave some amount to GMCHs but it was too small. Orders for grant release have been issued to all institutions with instructions that 50 per cent would be spent for new purchase of medicines meant for Haffkine Institute and 50 per cent for the pending bills. Now, the dues of drug companies mounted in the range between Rs 1.5 crore to 7 crore on various medical colleges. If they pay 50 per cent of what they received to drug companies then very little amount remain with them to pay to Haffkine. It will again result in shortage of drug in the hospitals.
This amount what the official talked is too meagre. For example, a GMC in Western Maharashtra running with the dues of Rs 1.5 crore of medicine companies. It got Rs 2 crore from the Rs 135 crore of a total release. If it pays Rs 1.5 crore of the dues to drug companies from whom the medicines are borrowed then only Rs 50 lakh will remain with it, an insufficient amount. If the arrangement is not made within a month, it may prove fatal, fears one former Dean.

Solutions to present crisis


One very senior medico while talking to ‘The Hitavada’ said, if some steps are taken then situation can improve. He unfolded, “Instead of going for big tenders, Government should opt for short tenders. Secondly, whatever damage is caused should be thought of, the purchase should be started through Rate Contract (RC). The old system that was being settled by Praveen Dixit Committee should be run for some days. Gradually allow new system to take over phase-wise. It will help the department to understand the problems out of new system those can be resolved. Within a year the new system without any loophole can take over.”



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