The National Committee for the Unified Purchase of Drugs during its 2nd meeting under the Chairmanship of Brigadier Doctor Shaikh Salman Bin Attiyatulla Al Khalifa, Commander of the King Hamad University Hospital announced the reduction in prices in Bahrain.
The Committee discussed the memorandum submitted by the Council of Ministers for reviewing drug prices at private pharmacies and making drugs comparable to the prices in the brotherly GCC countries.
In line with the directives of His Royal Highness Prince Khalifa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, the Prime Minister, may Allah preserve him, to ease the burden on citizens and reduce drug prices and make them affordable to people, particularly those of limited income, the Committee decided to set a table limiting the profit margin for each agent and pharmacy owner.
The table envisions the reduction of profit rates on drugs which is less than BD20 in value, and which account for 80% of total drugs, from 45% to 30%, evenly between the agent and the pharmacy, with 15% each. It also reduces the profit margin on drugs which are worth more than BD20, and which represent 20% of the total drugs, from 40% to 25%, evenly between the two parties with 12.5% each.
The Committee also decided to set up two sub-committees to unify purchases, with the first sub-committee concerned with the unification of prices at Government hospitals in the Kingdom of Bahrain, represented in King Hamad University Hospital, the BDF Hospital, Shaikh Mohammed Bin Khalifa Heart Cardiac Centre and Salmaniya Medical Complex, while the second sub-committee will be concerned with unification of consumable and surgical materials. The two sub-committees will prepare the ground for obtaining affordable prices for drugs, benefiting from the procedures and rules followed by the General Secretariat of the GCC countries in this respect.
The National Committee decided to lay down a mechanism for procurement of drugs through a unified application from the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain to obtain the best prices in case the drugs are not available in the GCC countries.
During the meeting, the National Committee also discussed setting up central warehouses for drugs with high storage standards, given the fact that the Kingdom lacks such warehouses of modern standards for storing drugs.
The Committee also expressed appreciation and thanks to His Excellency Shaikh Khalid Bin Abdulla Al Khalifa, Deputy Prime Minister, for his positive and continued support and highly valued his constructive directives for the best interests of our beloved Kingdom. The meeting was attended by Dr. Mariam Al Jalahma, Representative of the Executive Committee of the Council of Health Ministers in the GCC Countries, Hassan Al Nasser, Assistant Undersecretary for Human Resources at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Fawzi Amin, Head of the Central Drugs Committee, Sahar Al Qahtani, Director of the Pharmacies and Drug Control Directorate at the Ministry, Ali Zabari from the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Nezar Bukamal, Representative of Mohammed Bin Khalifa Cardiac Centre and KHUH’s Representative Ru’ya Al Abbasi.