The pharmacy institution "Montefarm" was organizationally and technically quite devastated, very little was invested in it for years, and the covid-19 pandemic led to an additional deterioration of business.
This was said by the director of that institution, Goran Marinović, in an interview with "Vijesta". He claims that "Montefarm" lags behind the private wholesalers that dominate the market and that the law should be changed in order to exempt medicines and medical devices from the public procurement process. Marinović says that the supply of medicines is much better than in the first half of 2021, that they end the year financially positively and that the state, that is, the Health Insurance Fund, owes them 28 million euros.
What kind of situation did you find in Montefarma when you assumed the position of director?
I assumed the position of acting director on June 15.06.2021, 29,5. years. At that moment, liabilities to suppliers were approximately EUR 19 million. At the same time, Montefarm's claims against the Health Insurance Fund amounted to approx. XNUMX million euros. Montefarma's real debt amounted to around ten million euros. On the other hand, in the technical and organizational sense, the company was quite devastated and was far behind the private wholesalers that occupied a dominant position on the pharmaceutical market of Montenegro. It is obvious that very little has been invested in the development of Montefarma over the years. The retail system, that is, the chain of pharmacies, was seriously damaged in terms of the exterior and interior of the pharmacies themselves.
The only bright spot was a fairly preserved pharmaceutical staff, but with a serious lack of economic expertise, that is, a modern business system. As for the wholesale trade in drugs and medical devices, its function was effectively reduced to providing technical services during the organization of public tenders, with the absence of legal regulations for commercial operations, and therefore participation in the pharmaceutical market...
How much has the covid-19 pandemic affected business and what challenges are you facing?
The pandemic led to an additional deterioration in business because the institution was not prepared for it either technically or financially. A particularly big problem was caused by the large consumption of drugs and medical devices, which is best seen through the consumption of covid drugs, which grew from 50 to 300 percent on an annual basis. A striking example is Lendacin, i.e. Longacef, whose consumption in 2019 was around 360.000 ampoules, while in 2021 it will be approximately one million ampoules.
In June of last year, the authorities allocated around 68 million euros to Montefarma for prescription drugs in pharmacies and used in healthcare institutions. How do you end the year, how much does the state owe you for medications and medical supplies?
The allocated funds for 2021 for Montefarm amounted to 68 million euros and it turned out to be an unrealistic figure due to the enormous consumption of covid medicines. Obviously, a special fund for covid patients should have been designated. As for the operations of Montefarm, we will end the year positively because the projection of income and expenses shows that the income will be higher by around one million euros. Debt of the state, i.e. the Fund, on 31.12.2021. amounts to just over 28 million euros.
Due to temporary financing, i.e. failure to adopt the Budget Law by July of last year, shortages of certain drugs, including cytostatics, were recorded, which caused dissatisfaction among patients and the public. What is the current supply of drugs in hospitals, health centers and pharmacies?
Temporary funding has led to major disruptions in the supply of medicines and medical devices, because they are provided through the public procurement system, where one to two tenders are organized annually, through which the bulk supply of the health system is carried out. Since it was not possible to organize it due to temporary financing, due to limited funds, comprehensive procurement could not be carried out, so there were occasional shortages. As for today's supply, it can be said that it is much better compared to the first half of last year. We expect optimal supply in the coming months due to the end of the tender as part of the expansion of the Public Procurement Plan.
How do public procurement procedures affect the supply of medicines? Should the procurement model be changed and how should medicines be exempted from the procedures defined by the Law on Public Procurement?
Public procurement procedures considerably slow down and inhibit the process of procurement of drugs and medical devices, due to the specificity of the products that are procured and the procurement of which in most cases cannot wait for paperwork procedures, because the tender itself must last at least a month, and after that there are deadlines for appeals, etc. . So the healthcare system cannot tolerate such slow procurement processes, which has a negative impact on the health of patients as a result. Montefarm has long ceased to do business directly with manufacturers and does not purchase prescription drugs directly from them. This was contributed to by the absence of legal regulations that would allow Montefarm to do business directly with suppliers and the lack of technical capacity for such business. Also, the public procurement system prevents direct business with producers.
Part of the public claims that Montefarm has a monopoly position on the market, while another part of the public claims that this state institution was collapsing on purpose in order to strengthen part of the private pharmaceutical sector. How do you comment on both claims?
Claims that Montefarm is a monopolist on the market are incorrect, it has no influence on the market because it does not have legal opportunities for commercial operations. The factual situation says the opposite, that private wholesalers have the predominant influence on the market.
What activities do you plan to implement in the coming period? How do you plan to improve the work of the institution?
The main activities planned in Montefarm are the amendment of the legal regulations, in order to enable commercial operations, as well as the entry into the market of pharmaceutical products, the exclusion of medicines and medical devices from the public procurement system for the most efficient and optimal supply of the health system, that is, direct business with large pharmaceutical companies, raising the level of technical capacities and commercial-financial management to a level that will enable competitive business on the market. Only in this way would Montefarm fulfill its role - the optimal supply of the health system with drugs and medical devices, as well as the function of a corrective factor in the price segment of pharmaceutical products, that is, the reduction of drug prices on the Montenegrin market.
Bonus video:
