To ensure that the national basic medicine system is implemented properly, the authorities have to strengthen supervision, says an article in Qilu Evening News. Excerpt:

The government announced the national basic medicine policy recently.

To ensure that the policy is implemented properly, the authorities should see to it that the basic medicines' list is comprehensive and doctors prescribe basic drugs from it. Besides, the authorities have to prevent government organizations from buying up all the basic medicines to prevent hoarding and other corrupt practices.

To guarantee good health for all, the authorities should release the list of experts who compiled the basic medicines' list and strengthen supervision on medical institutions. They have to ensure, too, that doctors prescribe a given proportion of the drugs from the basic medicines' list.

Patients have the right to know whether doctors are prescribing medicines from the list, and it is obligatory for physicians to explain the prescriptions.

The government document says basic medicines used in public medicine institutions in a province should be bought by a government organizati  on at the provincial level. But since that could lead to corruption the government should strengthen supervision.

To some extent, the key to a successful national medicine system is supervision. But unfortunately, the document contains only principled descriptions. So the government should include more detailed measures in it to make the system foolproof.

(China Daily August 25, 2009)