Roszdravnadzor will tighten the mechanism for controlling drug prices – Kommersant

In Russia, the mechanism for controlling prices for drugs, including vital and essential drugs (VED), will change, follows from the road map of Roszdravnadzor. Data on their cost will be entered into the Federal System for Monitoring the Movement of Medicines (FSIS MDLP). With its help, supervisory authorities will be able to analyze pricing and, if necessary, conduct inspections in pharmacies or hospitals where the cost of drugs was improperly inflated.

Now in Russia, prices for some drugs are checked by employees of regional tariff committees, as well as by the federal service, which receives complaints about inflated prices. However, from 2024, according to the road map of Roszdravnadzor, which we reviewed “News”, the process will be automated. Monitoring prices for medicines will be fully integrated into the FSIS MDLP.

The database already contains information about participants in the circulation of pharmaceutical products and all related transactions. However, with the update of functions in the FSIS MDLP, Roszdravnadzor will be able to monitor the range and prices of items from the list of vital and essential drugs. According to Izvestia, the first such report is currently being prepared; it will provide information on prices for such drugs for January 2024. Comprehensive reports on selling and wholesale prices in both the outpatient and hospital segments will be presented later.

Prices for medications from the Vital and Essential Drugs list are regulated by the state. Such drugs are used in the treatment of patients as part of a program for providing free medical care to citizens. In total, the list of vital and essential drugs contains more than 800 items.

The press service of Roszdravnadzor told Izvestia that in 2022 the department’s hotline received 11 requests from citizens about inflated prices for drugs from the vital and essential drugs list; in 2023, their number increased to 15.

In February, the Ministry of Health proposed changing the composition of the commission that decides whether to include or exclude new drugs from the VED lists. According to the Ministry, representatives of educational organizations of higher medical and pharmaceutical education, as well as medical, pharmaceutical and scientific organizations that carry out comprehensive assessments, should be excluded from its composition. The Ministry of Health told Kommersant that the adjustments will not affect the powers of representatives of the patient community.

Read more in the Kommersant article. “Patients are advised to take sedatives”.