Ismaili: Over 100 drugstores are being built inside QKUK

The Health Ministry has noted progress in the annual report of the National Audition Office, where of the 27 recommendations it had received in 2017, it received only 8 recommendations in 2018.

Among the recommendations this minister had received in 2017 that are not in the 2018 report are drug prices, misuse of official trips, and mismanagement of capital projects.

These were made known by Health Minister Uran Ismaili, who until commenting on this report, said that in 2017 the report had serious remarks, but that through commitment and work they have managed to take measures and return legitimacy.

He said reflecting all the work in the ZKA report indicates their dedication to fighting misuse and corruption that has had an effect throughout the health system.

“The number of recommendations from the National Auditor's Office for the Health Ministry have managed to subtract it from number 27 to 8, and these recommendations are procedural in character and have no material effect. So the assessment of the new health ministry audience report has also been radically improved by qualified opinion or lower rates that were in 2017, in an unmodified opinion in 2018, or that means the highest degree of implementation. This improvement in the audience's opinion has come as a result of a strong 1-year commitment and our successful fight against corruption”, Ismaili said.

He has mentioned some of the improvements they have made in health.

“Abusing an unjustified advantage used for official travel has been an issue that has heavily burdened the 2017 Auditor's report. The National Office's report had stressed that there have been serious issues in domestic audits for official travel. In 2018 MS handles this issue with priority and only by denouncing on justice bodies have we restored legitimacy by making any procedure followed according to Kosovo rules. We've had a case where six officials have been suspended and legal proceedings have been initiated. Buying drug at abusive prices, as well as all previous reporting of auditing has been that there have been problems buying drugs, but the report in 2018 now praises the ministry for using reference market prices to buy drugs, preventing the purchase of abusive prices. We have taken care of this policy to be sustainable and signed an administrative guide that enables and establishes order that when drugs are bought at reference prices”, he said.

Another issue Ismaili said was burdening the citizens' pockets and showing a neglect to public money has been the issue of Angographer, who was bought and remained in a warehouse in Austria. He said failure to bring such a device has affected the treatment of patients.

Despite the ZKA's positive report on the Ministry of Health for Drug Supply, Ismaili has been asked why patients still continue to buy drugs and redeeming materials. He said the report shows that even the distribution of drugs had a problem at MS, but he said they were fixing it.

There are 100 drugstores that are being built inside the QKUK with the sole purpose that the purchased grass should be placed in the department and when downloaded to the patient known to which patient it has gone. This was unimaginable a year ago. First, we're talking about a situation that's been created for 20 years. If someone has expectations that 20 years has a minister who can either stop or manage them and conduct them as processes within one and a half years, then I think expectations are unrealistic. However, if we look at the transformation that is taking place and do not celebrate the fact that today we have an independent agency that says there's been a huge step in the way drugs were bought in Kosovo, how public money was spent in Kosovo, this has been to say the black hole in pharmaceutical adjustment”, said Minister Ismaili.

USAID Director Lisa Magno, who said that this minister has made great progress in addressing recommendations issued by the report, has also spoken of the ZKA report.

She said dramatic improvements in the health sector and major reforms have been necessary.

This minister has made great progress in addressing recommendations that have emerged from the Black report. In such cases the first step to be taken is to become conscious of the existence of problems and to recognize the importance of these problems, while the second step is to do something in that direction. Without a political will, much cannot be done in this regard. The address of the KA recommendations, which is a process that continues even further, has called for a determination, tenacity, and hard work. The greatest achievement is administrative instruction for the purchase of medical equipment and medicine at competitive prices. This has destroyed several monopolies that have had to be destroyed and drug prices have become more reasonable and affordable for citizens, and only the standardisation of prices for medicine has spared this ministry 10m euros”, Magno said.

It as a success of the Health Ministry has cited the stationing at QKUK, where it said it is very important that citizens can receive this service at the public hospital. She also cited 5m-euro investment in the modernisation of clinics as positive.