The Department of Health (DOH) emphasized on Wednesday, Jan. 17, that addressing the issue of at least P1 million worth of expired medicines within the Rural Health Office (RHU) of Bacacay town in Albay requires expertise “not in the medical field” but rather in “supply chain and logistics.”
"I want to modernize procurement all the way to delivery. The delivery and supply chain should be well-organized, so that's what I need to fix at the DOH. The department has the budget, being the third-highest funded, so what is truly needed is for the medicine to reach those in need, and the vaccines not to spoil in the refrigerator,” Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said in a mix of English and Filipino during the Kapihan sa Manila Hotel Forum on Wednesday.
However, he pointed out that although the budget of the DOH has increased, there is “no storeroom” because they are not allowed to establish a warehouse, and this is because it is not considered a healthcare facility, and they could be reported to the Commission on Audit (COA) if the budget is used for non-health purposes.
“So sometimes, the small warehouse is filled with all deliveries, continuously accumulating, and later on, when items are removed, there are vaccines at the back that have already expired). This is third-world logistic supply chain management. I need to modernize it; this is not acceptable for me," he emphasized.
Herbosa also mentioned that this is a symptom of one of the problems and is related to stockouts.
“You have stockouts, and then you have medicines that are expiring, and this is important because it was mentioned in the news that some of the medicines were given by the DOH," he noted.
Concerning this, the Health chief urged logistics experts to assist in addressing the situation, stating, "When drugs expire, that's a failure. It needs more expertise, and I'm calling on the logistics expert to help me out on this one.”
On the other hand, in response to concerns about the DOH's role on this matter, Herbosa clarified that the DOH's supervision is supervisory, with no direct control over rural health units.
“The problem with some LGUs is that they keep asking for medicine but are unable to distribute them,” he pointed out.
Herbosa also added that the problem might not be with the DOH because he will review it when the LGU requests it.
“Either you're inefficient because I gave you medicine and you didn't distribute it and it expired, or maybe you don't need that much," he said.
Furthermore, the Health chief said that the responsibility for the expiration of these medicines lies with the mayor as the Local Government Unit manages the warehouse where the medicines expired.
"Because health is a devolved office. The municipal health officer is a local government employee, so it's a local concern," added Coalition National Project Chairman Jose “Joey” D. Lina.
Herbosa also cited news reports that a local official who is involved in the said issue is facing dismissal over the incident.