They Enter Into Criminal Deals Without Knowing
Roza Hovhannisyan
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/interview27529.html
Published: 10:49:39 - 28/09/2012
Interview with the minister of health Derenik Dumanyan
Mr. Dumanyan, what methods will you use to fight kickbacks after Serzh
Sargsyan's instructions?
We are currently working out a new draft law on medical drugs. I hope
the new law will provide mechanisms to regulate the market.
You mean the only gap was the law? What triggered scandalous revelations?
There are issues that have persisted and aggravated over years and it
is not the minister's fault. The law on medicine was adopted in 1996
and it is therefore not in line with today's needs. So we need to
ensure rigid control. We should not allow any expired or
non-registered drugs on the market.
But the president's observations were not only about the expired or
unregistered medicine. Abuses in hospital, medicine and medical
equipment markets were found. Medical institutions decided about the
purchases they way they wanted. Is this situation a consequence of
monopolies?
Procurement of all kinds of drugs is based on tender. The winner dealt
with the medical center's needs. It is different that they were not
duteous. There is no monopoly, it is decentralized, each medical
center has its own procurement. We have both good and bad directors.
We need to enhance supervision here. The issue is not systemic. There
is another issue. Many enter into criminal deals without knowing about
it. And there are others who do it consciously.
Kickbacks and similar issues have deep roots but they are revealed
only now. Why did the president not raise these issues earlier?
As far as I remember, the president has always raised these issues.
Everyone knows that he brought up those issues in the previous years
too.
Do you think the task to catch the big fish will be fulfilled?
I believe it will. We need to make efforts to tackle these issues together.
What do you think about opinions that the president's speech was
addressed to former PAP ministers?
I don't think it's true.
Roza Hovhannisyan
Story from Lragir.am News:
http://www.lragir.am/engsrc/interview27529.html
Published: 10:49:39 - 28/09/2012
Interview with the minister of health Derenik Dumanyan
Mr. Dumanyan, what methods will you use to fight kickbacks after Serzh
Sargsyan's instructions?
We are currently working out a new draft law on medical drugs. I hope
the new law will provide mechanisms to regulate the market.
You mean the only gap was the law? What triggered scandalous revelations?
There are issues that have persisted and aggravated over years and it
is not the minister's fault. The law on medicine was adopted in 1996
and it is therefore not in line with today's needs. So we need to
ensure rigid control. We should not allow any expired or
non-registered drugs on the market.
But the president's observations were not only about the expired or
unregistered medicine. Abuses in hospital, medicine and medical
equipment markets were found. Medical institutions decided about the
purchases they way they wanted. Is this situation a consequence of
monopolies?
Procurement of all kinds of drugs is based on tender. The winner dealt
with the medical center's needs. It is different that they were not
duteous. There is no monopoly, it is decentralized, each medical
center has its own procurement. We have both good and bad directors.
We need to enhance supervision here. The issue is not systemic. There
is another issue. Many enter into criminal deals without knowing about
it. And there are others who do it consciously.
Kickbacks and similar issues have deep roots but they are revealed
only now. Why did the president not raise these issues earlier?
As far as I remember, the president has always raised these issues.
Everyone knows that he brought up those issues in the previous years
too.
Do you think the task to catch the big fish will be fulfilled?
I believe it will. We need to make efforts to tackle these issues together.
What do you think about opinions that the president's speech was
addressed to former PAP ministers?
I don't think it's true.