Decision No. 17/2005/QD-BYT on issuing the fifth list of essential medicines in Vietnam

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the issuance of the fifth list of essential medicines in Vietnam

THE MINISTER OF HEALTH

Pursuant to the Law on People's Health Protection dated July 11, 1989 and the Pharmaceutical Regulations for Disease Prevention and Treatment issued together with Decree No. 23/HĐBT dated January 24, 1991 of the Council of Ministers (now the Government);

Pursuant to Decree No. 49/2003/NĐ-CP dated May 15, 2003 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Health;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Medicine Management of Vietnam and the Deputy Minister in charge of Traditional Medicine.

DECISION:

Article 1. Issued together with this Decision:

1. The fifth list of essential medicines in Vietnam includes:

- The list of essential modern medicines,

- The list of essential traditional medicines.

2. Guidelines for using the fifth list of essential medicines in Vietnam.

Article 2. 1. The list of essential medicines serves as a legal basis for:

- Establishing unified state policies on investment, price management, capital, and tax related to disease prevention and treatment drugs to ensure sufficient availability of essential medicines in the list to serve health protection and improvement activities for the people.

- State management agencies develop policies to facilitate drug registration, import, and export.

- Units within the healthcare sector focus their activities in the areas of import, export, production, distribution, storage, and rational, safe, and effective use of essential medicines to meet the needs of health protection and improvement for the people.

- Specialized medical and pharmaceutical schools organize training, teaching, and guidance on the use of medicines for students.

2. State-owned and private medicine business establishments must ensure the provision of essential medicines at appropriate prices, provide safe, rational, and effective usage guidance.

Article 3. This Decision takes effect 15 days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette and revokes Decision No. 2285/1999/QĐ-BYT dated July 28, 1999 of the Minister of Health regarding the issuance of the fourth list of essential medicines in Vietnam.

Article 4. Directors of the Department of Medicine Management of Vietnam, Deputy Ministers in charge of Traditional Medicine, and Deputy Ministers in charge of Treatment shall coordinate with relevant units to guide, monitor, and evaluate the implementation of this Decision.

Article 5. Heads of the Office, Inspectors, Directors of the Department of Medicine Management of Vietnam, Deputy Ministers in charge of Traditional Medicine, Deputy Ministers in charge of Treatment, and other relevant Departments and Bureaus, Heads of subordinate units under the Ministry, Directors of Provincial Health Services, and Health Administrators of centrally governed cities are responsible for enforcing this Decision.