Thiruvananthapuram: Health minister K Muraleedharan has directed Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd (KMSCL) to overhaul its drug procurement system, with measures to eliminate intermediaries from tenders and ensure the supply of quality branded medicines to govt hospitals.The minister has instructed KMSCL to provide companies with an opportunity to participate directly in the tender process. In the case of imported medicines, authorised direct agencies will also be allowed to participate. Procurement for the next financial year will begin in Oct.The directions were issued at a review meeting convened against the backdrop of media reports about medicine shortages in various govt hospitals. The minister also called for measures to strengthen the functioning of KMSCL and improve transparency in procurement.Under the new guidelines, only those companies which have supplied to govt institutions in at least two states will be eligible for procurement in Keralam. The review also found that several companies that received purchase orders from KMSCL in Feb this year were manufacturing medicines exclusively for the corporation.Muraleedharan directed KMSCL to ensure that the prices at which it procures medicines are lower than those paid by the in-house drug bank at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Hospital, which currently sources branded medicines at some of the lowest prices in the state.KMSCL will also be required to publish the annual purchase prices of medicines on its website. The minister directed that intermediaries should not be allowed access to KMSCL or be offered any form of benefit. Companies found to have supplied any substandard batch of medicine to KMSCL will be permanently blacklisted.Companies currently quoting excessively high prices will be excluded from the tender process. The tender process for the next financial year is scheduled to begin in Oct, be completed by Dec and enable the medicines to be supplied by Feb.At the review meeting, the KMSCL general manager said essential medicines, including fever medicines and antibiotics, were currently available in hospitals. He also said medicines for which purchase orders had already been placed were expected to reach the state by the end of this week.Muraleedharan said a comprehensive overhaul of KMSCL was underway to ensure that people received quality medicines and that the impact of the changes would become visible in the coming months.
