General hospital denies media reports on drug shortages

JAKARTA (JP): State-owned Cipto Mangunkusumo General Hospital (RSCM) in Central Jakarta strongly denied yesterday media reports claiming that RSCM was short of medicines.

"The information is baseless," I Made Nazar, one of the hospital's vice directors, told The Jakarta Post.

Nazar acknowledged the hospital could manage to survive only until next month if it did not cut costs.

The hospital has launched a major efficiency program in which it is concentrating on purchasing life-saving drugs amid the skyrocketing prices of medicine, he said.

Nazar said the rupiah's plunge against the U.S. dollar had badly affected the hospital's capability in drug purchasing.

"Our priority in purchasing drugs is in first-line drugs, namely life-saving drugs needed in anesthetization and dialysis," he said.

Second priority is given to drugs like influenza medicine, vitamins and antibiotics, he said.

He stressed that the hospital was forced to take such a step otherwise it would only be able to buy a third of its medicine needs.

Minister of Health Sujudi said earlier this month the government would raise the prices of both generic and patent medicines by as much as 15 percent in April, Nazar said.

The price hike was unavoidable because prices of imported raw materials used to produce medicines had continued soaring, he said.

Nazar said the hospital had received a few anonymous donations to buy more medicines.

"Drugs are vital to any hospital... if the patients can't be treated here due to a lack of beds, for example, at least we can give them medicine first," he said.

Drug and medical equipment suppliers, patients and representatives from state-owned Health Insurance Company (Askes) have held meetings with the hospital's director over the last few days to discuss ways on how to deal with the problem of drug scarcity, Nazar said. (emf)