Wednesday, Feb 06, 2013
Dubai. Healthcare in going to be cheaper in the UAE with more than 83 per cent of the registered 7,053 medications to be priced below Dh250.
For patients, the news is celebratory. For the country, it is noteworthy, pitting it as the first in the Middle East to reduce the prices of more than 6,000 medications.
The new reduced pricing is the result of a unified pricing system that lowered the cost of medications to up to 40 per cent. It was approved by the UAE Cabinet on February 3, 2012.
Details on the reduced prices of 6,619 medications were made available on Wednesday during a press conference by the UAE Ministry of Health (MOH).
Of the total number of cheaper medicines, 2,101 are for chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke and chronic respiratory diseases.
Speaking to Gulf News, Dr Ameen Hussain Al Amiri, Assistant Undersecretary for Medical Practices and Licensing, said that out of 7,053 medications registered in the UAE, 5,900 will be priced below Dh250.
“We have achieved this by collaborating with the three pillars in the process. We have reduced the prices right from the manufacturer, fixed the profit margins for the local agents, and increased the profit margins for the pharmacies. Patients benefit from the low cost of medicine,” he said.
Praising the role of pharmaceutical companies, he said, “The pharmaceuticals understood that the reduction of prices is for the patients, not for the Ministry. They have provided humanitarian support for the community.”
During the press conference, two key areas were addressed - the profit margins for distributors and private pharmacies in the UAE, and pricing medicine in US dollars to prevent price increase due to currency fluctuation.
The new pricing system unifies the prices with those of GCC countries, providing alternatives for every kind of medication for chronic and other diseases. It also alters the profit margin of pharmacy and distributors.
Dr. Salem Al Darmakey, Acting Undersecretary at the MOH said that the decision to unify imported medication prices in US dollars came as part of the ministry’s initiatives to alleviate the burden on patients.
Dr Al Amiri said that under the Supreme Committee for Drug Registration and Pricing of which he is the co-chairman, a three member group led by himself conducted a comparative study on prices of medication.
He said, “We studied pricing in six countries - Jordan, Bahrain, Oman, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. We found that 5,000 medications in the UAE were higher by up to 44 per cent due to the currency exchange. We had several meetings with government pharmacy representatives, representatives from the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Ministry officials in the past last two years to discuss price reduction.”
Dr Al Amiri explained that the system is the first regional initiative to price all medicines in US dollars and increase margins of private pharmacies.
“The UAE is the first country in the GCC to adopt the unified system,” he said.
Pharmaceutical companies were asked to reduce their prices in relation to the CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) costs down to 44 per cent. This said Dr Al Amiri helped bring down the costs of medications.
The system also rectified the low profit margin for pharmacies after these were reduced in October 2008 when the Euro exchange rate increased around the globe.
Earlier MOH attempts in price reduction included five to 55 per cent drop in 565 medications in June 2011, and 5 per cent to 35 per cent drop in 115 medications in November 2011.
By Carolina DSouza, Staff Reporter
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
