Expenditure on medicine for public hospitals, clinics up 30 per cent in eight years - Dzulkefly

KUALA LUMPUR - Expenditure on medicine for public hospitals and clinics increased by 30 per cent over eight years, reaching RM3 billion in 2023 from RM2.3 billion in 2015, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad said the rise in financial allocation aligned with rising medicine prices, the growing number of patients and the use of new, patented medications, which were typically more expensive.

"According to the Statistics of the Pharmaceutical Services Programme, a total of RM23.25 billion has been spent on medications from 2015 to 2023.

"The Ministry of Health (MOH) projects that the expenditure on medication at MOH facilities will continue to increase annually,” he said during the question-and-answer session.

He said this in response to a question from Azli Yusof (PH-Shah Alam) about the total annual expenditure on medicines for public hospitals and clinics since 2015 and the estimated spending for the next five years.

Azli also asked about the ministry's plans to ensure the country's medicine supply security through the development of technology and local production capacity.

According to Dzulkefly, several strategies had been developed based on the National Medicines Policy (DUNas) under its Access to Medicines Component to safeguard the nation's medicine security.

He said that among the strategies implemented were ensuring the availability of medicines under the National Essential Medicine List (NEML) by encouraging local manufacturing, prioritising product evaluation and registration, and enhancing supply chain transparency through the development of a pharmaceutical product tracking and tracing system.

"In addition, MOH is collaborating with all stakeholders in the country's pharmaceutical ecosystem, covering areas such as pre-clinical and clinical studies, manufacturing and distribution.

"Through this engagement session, MOH aims to identify the strengths and potential of the local pharmaceutical industry to be included in the action plan and the ASEAN Drug Security and Self-Reliance (ADSSR) strategic collaboration," he said. - BERNAMA