Drug bidding, the cheapest drug is not necessarily chosen
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health technology assessment (HTA - Health Technology Assessment) is a process of systematic and multidisciplinary research and synthesis of information on clinical, economic, social and ethical efficiency of medical technologies (medicines, equipment, procedures).
HTA's main goal is to provide scientific evidence to support decision-making on the allocation of medical resources, optimize costs and improve treatment outcomes for patients.
Not only assessing safety, HTA also considers the cost efficiency of new drugs or equipment, helping to make decisions on the list of drugs covered by health insurance; assessing whether a new medical device is more effective than the old method and analyzing the economic impact when applying the new medical examination and treatment process.
At the 2026 Vietnam Medical Technology Assessment Conference with the theme "Improving the quality of evidence in medical technology assessment and application solutions in building health insurance payment policies" organized by the Ministry of Health from May 6-8, Ms. Tran Thi Trang - Director of the Health Insurance Department, Ministry of Health - cited, if a similar drug is effective for patients increasing by 10-20% but costs increase by 50%, even 100%, how will it be handled?
In this case, when applying data on medical technology assessment, management agencies will have clear scientific evidence from reports, studies... on treatment effectiveness compared to costs, thereby making more accurate decisions, protecting the rights of patients and the Health Insurance Fund (HI)" - Ms. Trang said.
Ms. Trang also cited another example in drug procurement bidding, in the past, the issue of price was always an important factor to choose, because procurement bidding is concentrated with large quantities, so how to buy at the lowest price. However, thanks to the medical technology evaluation tool, currently, the issue of price is no longer the decisive and unique factor. The lowest priced drug is not necessarily chosen.
According to Ms. Trang, the medical technology assessment tool shows that price is a factor, but the quality of treatment accompanied by a corresponding price is "effective consumption". At that time, the level of payment will achieve the highest efficiency, helping to use drugs and medical technical service equipment effectively.
In particular, ensuring 2 factors: the rights of patients and effective use of the health insurance fund.
Costs of medicines, supplies, and new medical technologies are increasing
According to Standing Deputy Minister of Health Vu Manh Ha, although the health insurance coverage rate in our country has reached over 95% and the quality of medical examination and treatment is constantly being improved, however, medical costs in general and costs for drugs, supplies, and new medical technologies are increasing.
This reality poses a problem for managers - which is how to ensure that people have access to health services, treatment technologies, especially advanced and effective technologies, but still ensure fairness and sustainable payment capacity of the Health Insurance Fund, while protecting long-term social security rights for the people.
To solve this problem, medical technology assessment is considered an essential and effective tool, which has been applied by many countries. The methodical application of HTA will help effectively use the Health Insurance Fund and make an important contribution to reducing personal costs for people.
However, the prerequisite is that scientific evidence must ensure quality, reliability and suitability with Vietnamese practice.
The application of medical technology assessment tools is not synchronized
According to Director of the Department of Health Insurance Tran Thi Trang, currently, the domestic health sector has also been and is applying a medical technology assessment tool. However, this application is not synchronized.
We are gradually building sets of tools to assess standards and invest resources to improve capacity for researchers" - Ms. Trang said.
Emphasizing the importance of the medical technology assessment tool in the present and future, Deputy Minister Vu Manh Ha requested the health sector to focus on researching and perfecting technical solutions and standard methodologies on HTA, ensuring compliance with Vietnam's resource conditions and practical context, thereby improving the quality, reliability and application value of research.
At the same time, urgently research, propose and gradually form an organizational model for managing and appraising the quality of HTA research at the national level, ensuring a scientific, strict, objective and transparent evaluation process.
In addition, strengthen the connection between research, training and policy planning practice; promote effective coordination between management agencies, research and training institutions and international partners, in order to develop a synchronous HTA ecosystem; gradually standardize and institutionalize the application of HTA in the process of building lists, determining prices and health insurance payment methods; pay attention to developing HTA human resources with high professional capacity, ensuring independence, objectivity and transparency in evaluation and decision-making.
