Hung Yen (VNS/VNA) - A nationalportal of pharmacies throughout Vietnam was officially launched on August 24, in a bid to inhibit the sale of low quality drugs on the market andkeep prices in check.

With the portal, which currently comprisesnearly 4,200 stores out of 62,000 across Vietnam, users can easily look up theuse, price and origins of available drugs, as well as receive up-to-datewarnings from health authorities about medicines of questionable quality.

Speaking at the launch event and theaccompanying conference on incorporating information technology in nationwidedrug supply held in the northern province of Hung Yen, Health Minister Nguyen ThiKim Tien deemed the launch of the portal a ‘landmark development’ in thecountry’s drug supply.

The move is in line with the VietnameseGovernment’s national strategy on pharmacy development towards 2020-30 that setgoals of “ensuring stable supply of high-quality drugs for all Vietnamesepeople” and striving for “safe, proper and effective use of drugs,” she said.

Minister Tien said that the scheme seeks toremedy a plethora of issues facing the country’s drug supply.

The rampant sale and purchase of drugswithout doctors’ prescriptions, especially antibiotics, has led to increasingrisks of antibiotic resistance through misuse and overuse, putting Vietnamamong countries with the highest rate of the phenomenon, she said.

She also lamented the current state of drugdistribution in Vietnam, saying that there are too many “intermediary layers”which cause disproportionately inflated prices and difficulties in tracing theorigins of products.

To address these issues, the healthministry has adopted a project to strengthen management of prescriptions andsale of prescription drugs in the 2017-20 period.

The ministry is also preparing to make it alegal obligation for all drug stores to connect to a common network (those whodeliberately fail to follow this regulation might even have their licencesrevoked), and conduct piloting of the drug store portal in selected provinces –namely Phu Tho, Hung Yen, Vinh Phuc and Nam Dinh.

The initial success of the pilot projecthas encouraged the implementation of the scheme, which has now seen 25provinces and centrally-directed municipalities across the country joining thenetwork, with the participation of nearly 4,200 retail drug stores and anarchive of 22,000 electronic prescriptions.

Increased transparency in drug sales wouldbenefit both consumers and concerned authorities, minister Tien said.

Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam stressedthat the portal is expected to “remove undesired activities and fraud,” andasked the health ministry to ramp up information campaigns about the scheme.

The next step the health ministry mustfocus on is the development of electronic medical records for all citizens, hesaid.

Up to 71.15 percent of all drug stores inthe country have internet access, but only 48 percent actually use computersoftware to manage sales, according to the health ministry.-VNS/VNA