Cytostatics must have priority over other public procurements

In hospitals across the Federation of BiH, certain cytostatics for treating oncology patients have been unavailable in recent weeks, and healthcare institutions say the Health Insurance and Reinsurance Institute of FBiH is primarily to blame for the shortage of these urgently needed medicines for cancer patients, Patria reports.

However, what the problem is and how the procurement process could be improved remains unclear, as the Institute provides no clear guidelines. Emir Sijerčić, a member of the Management Board of the FBiH Insurance Institute, says that at the last session of the Management Board (whose mandate has expired), they also discussed the issue of the shortage of a certain number of cytostatics.

- We were given information from management regarding this issue. Of course, I believe it is necessary to have a sufficient number of cytostatics and we understand the seriousness of this problem, especially from the patients' perspective, but we were also presented with some objective reasons that could lead to the current shortage - said Sijerčić.

As he further states, this primarily refers to the amount of funds allocated to the Solidarity Fund, which are insufficient to cover all medical services and programs financed from the fund, which is why we also have so-called "waiting lists" for certain cytostatics.

- Insufficient financial resources prevent the creation of larger stockpiles, which can be a problem at a certain point and even lead to a temporary shortage. I would also mention the application of the Public Procurement Law, where the procurement of cytostatics is treated like any other public procurement, and due to the complex procedure, including appeals processes, this process can be significantly hindered and prolonged.

Personally, I believe that the Public Procurement Law in this case should be more flexible and allow for easier and simpler procedures, as these are procurements that directly affect people's lives and health - says Sijerčić.

Incidentally, the Fund has sent several initiatives for amending the law and urgent requests to the Appeals Review Office for faster resolution of appeals in these procedures, but all have ended without significant results.

- Certainly, the Institute, as the institution responsible for the procurement of cytostatics, should take all measures within its power to avoid such situations or reduce them to a minimum, including these objective circumstances - added Sijerčić.

From the competent health insurance institute, whenever there is a shortage of medicines - and the latest case is not the first - they assure that they initiate the public procurement procedure in a timely manner, but say that they are slowed down by supplier appeals on the tender.

Patients, especially the most severe ones, cannot wait, and the urgent negotiation procedures that are later initiated often come too late for those who need the medicine. For patients dependent on cytostatics, the disease can progress, and their general condition can significantly deteriorate without the necessary therapy.