The State Council issued a circular Oct 11, outlining efforts to guarantee supplies and maintain the prices of drugs in shortage to meet people’s demands.

An information-sharing system should be established for monitoring bulk drugs and preparations in registration, production, procurement and prices, the circular said.

It also called for increased efforts in the construction of production bases, implementation of a unified procurement policy and increased reserves to ensure the supply of drugs.

A management list for drugs in short supply will be carried out to monitor and track drugs, it said.

The supply and use of essential drugs should be prioritized, the circular said, adding that the percentage of essential drugs in government grassroots medical institutions, secondary and tertiary public hospitals should be no lower than 90, 80 and 60 percent, respectively.

Medical institutions are encouraged to optimize the management and use of drugs in shortage, and county-level center hospitals will be supported to increase their reserves of such drugs.

The circular allowed enterprises to give prices of drugs on the national or provincial shortage list, and called for strict management of drug procurement through regular monitoring of drug delivery rates, procurement quantity and loan settlement.

The monitoring and warning of abnormalities in drug prices and regular supervision of drug prices should be strengthened, it stressed.

Monopolies and illegal pricing in bulk drugs and preparations should be investigated, according to the circular.

The central-local drug reserve structure should be optimized with the drug reserve to be expanded, said the circular.

Preparation and bulk drug enterprises are encouraged to form a supply alliance to integrate high-quality resources at the upper and downstream of the industry.

It also said that administrative reform should be furthered to improve the efficiency and quality of bulk drug approvals.