The Chinese Pharmacists Association (CPA) has released the “National Volume-based Procurement (VBP) Drug Management Expert Consensus for Medical Institutions,” a draft proposal open for public feedback until March 31, 2022. The document provides guidance on standardizing, homogenizing, normalizing, and institutionalizing the implementation of the national VBP drug policy.
Key Guidelines
- Working Group Setup: Medical institutions are required to establish a national VBP drug management working group, led by the institution head and including staff from medical affairs, medical insurance, pharmacy, clinical, information, quality control, performance management, publicity, finance, and other departments. Daily operations will be managed by medical affairs, medical insurance, or pharmacy departments.
- Data Management: Institutions must scientifically measure and report procurement volume data and manage VBP drug lists. Winning bids should be prioritized, and contracted doses should be distributed scientifically. Non-winning bids in the basic drug supply list should be optimized based on clinical needs.
- Principles: Retain originators, reference preparations, and generic drugs that have passed the generic quality consistency evaluation (GQCE), especially for chronic, serious diseases, and acute/critical patients. Suspend or remove generic drugs that have not passed GQCE and are priced higher than winning drugs.
- Policy Implementation: Strengthen policy publicity and training, improve rational use of winning bids, upgrade information systems, establish monitoring mechanisms, and improve incentive mechanisms and performance appraisal systems. Manage national VBP drugs and alternatives in groups, adjust procurement volumes as needed, and replace alternatives with VBP drugs where clinically appropriate.
- Quality Management: Establish a quality management system for winning bids, monitor stability, clinical effects, safety, and rationality, and report results regularly.
Additional Requirements
- Clinical Evaluation: Medical institutions must transform and apply comprehensive clinical evaluation results of national VBP drugs and ensure network information security. Feedback evaluation results to authorities and promote their application in drug procurement, clinical use, and pharmaceutical services.-Fineline Info & Tech
