France, Vietnam boost co-operation in pharmaceutical system development
VOV.VN - The Vietnam Social Security (VSS) and the France-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCIFV) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on strategic co-operation in optimizing the medical and pharmaceutical systems to care for people's health.
According to French Ambassador to Vietnam Olivier Brochet, the French Embassy in Vietnam has worked alongside the VSS in the fields of health care and pharmacy since 2018.
In 2019, the French Pharmaceutical Companies Association (Leem) signed an agreement with the VSS in the pharmaceutical area, he noted, affirming that the newly-signed MoU is the continuance of sound ties between the two sides.
Nguyen Duc Hoa, deputy general director of the VSS, said that currently roughly 18.26 million people have joined social insurance, accounting for 39.25% of the country’s workforce, along with about 14.7 million people joining unemployment insurance and over 93.3 million people covered by health insurance, or 93.35% of the country’s total population.
However, Hoa pointed out a number of difficulties that VSS is facing in ensuring that people covered by health insurance can access medicine, medical equipment, and services of a high quality, as well as challenges faced in terms of managing spending of the health insurance fund on drugs, medical supplies, and medical technical services.
He went on to underline that the MoU is not only a commitment to public health, but is also a shared effort of the two sides in providing high-quality medical services for people of the two countries, further contributing to promoting mutual relations.
Under the MoU, both sides will seek to share information and experience on measures aimed at increasing income sources for the health insurance fund and the implementation of supplementary health insurance packages, while supporting each other in enhancing capacity in medical technology assessment. This will serve as the building of a list of drugs, medical supplies, and technical services covered by the health insurance fund.
Meanwhile, they will also work together in communications as a means of raising awareness of the community and medical staff about safe, reasonable, and effective use of drugs, thereby ensuring the effective use of the health insurance funds and patients' rights, as well as optimizing resources for the improvement of healthcare services.
