Capitol shortens process of distributing medicines

• Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/local-news/2015/06/20/capitol-shortens-process-distributing-medicines-414342
• Saturday, June 20, 2015

By Oscar C. Pineda

CAPITOL cut short the long and tedious process of procuring medicines through public bidding.

The Provincial Health Office (PHO) will now buy the items from Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) and distribute these to its 16 hospitals in the province through the Cebu Medicine Consignment scheme.

Though this scheme, endorsed and recommended by DOH, Capitol pays only for the consumed medicines and returns the unused ones.

“Consignment system will address procurement problems and solve Capitol’s budgetary constraints because we can get medicines and pay only for what we consumed,” said Provincial Board (PB) Member Member Peter John Calderon.

Calderon is health committee chair of the PB.

Jone Siegfred Sepe, Provincial General Services officer, said the consignment of medicine is one of the five objectives of Cebu Gov. Hilario Davide III this year.

Davide aims to put up a teleradiology system, where a radiologist serves all hospitals via the Internet; two dialysis machines installed in strategic provincial hospitals by November; and a laboratory diagnostic machine in four provincial hospitals.

Davide also aims to make all four provincial hospitals in Bogo, and Danao, Carcar cities, and Balamban town fully functional as Level 1 facilities.

Level 1 hospitals are capable of giving specialized services, like surgical operation in emergency situations, said Dr Cynthia Genosolango.

Health program

Calderon, Sepe, Genosolango and Public Information Office (PIO) head Ethel Natera were the resource persons in yesterday’s Capitol-initiated Kapistorya Forum, where the governor’s health program was discussed.

“Duna na tay consignment committee to monitor level of stock and will alert suppliers if quantity goes down,” said Genosolango.

She said Capitol has seven hospitals implementing the scheme and by July all 16 hospitals will be covered.

Medicines

Calderon said Capitol will still do its own procurement of medicines that are not listed in the DOH medicine consignment.

Sepe said that before a surgical operation is conducted, a surgeon needs an X-Ray report by a radiologist, which not all Cebu hospitals have.

“By adopting this concept, the radiologist doesn’t need to travel to remote hospitals,” said Sepe.

The newly acquired machine converts analog X-Ray results into digital and sends these to their destinations via the Internet.

Sepe said the reagents are bid out, with the winning bidder providing the machines.

He said these are for complete blood count (CBC), blood chemistry, sodium-potassium analyses and many others.

Laboratory

“You have medicines, laboratory and equipment, the patient doesn’t have to spend anything,” said Sepe.

He said dialysis machines will most likely be installed in Carcar and Bogo cities.

With four ultra-sound machines in four provincial hospitals, and two dialysis center in place by November, Sepe and Genosolango are confident that by the end of 2015, all four provincial hospitals can provide specialized service in emergency situations, the types provided by Level 1 hospitals.

“There are primary care hospitals among the 12 that will not enjoy Level 1 status for lack of a functional operating room and they cannot expand their bed capacity because of a limited structure,” said Genosolango.