Ministry of Health and Welfare holds 10th health and pharmaceutical organizations meeting on Middle East war response; online purchase limits eased to pre-war levels

Lee Hyeong-hun, second vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, speaks at the 10th Health and Pharmaceutical Organizations Meeting on Middle East War Response, held Monday at Dalgyebi Conference House in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]
Lee Hyeong-hun, second vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, speaks at the 10th Health and Pharmaceutical Organizations Meeting on Middle East War Response, held Monday at Dalgyebi Conference House in Jung-gu, Seoul. [Yonhap]

The supply of medical products, a source of significant concern since the outbreak of the Middle East war, is stabilizing. A government survey found that inventory conditions have improved compared with the previous assessment. Authorities plan to maintain their policy of prioritizing raw material supply for medical products while monitoring the trend.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Monday it will work closely with relevant ministries and health and pharmaceutical organizations to carefully manage the current stable supply trend until uncertainties — including whether the Middle East war has ended — are fully resolved.

The ministry convened the 10th Health and Pharmaceutical Organizations Meeting on Middle East War Response that day at Dalgyebi Conference House in Jung-gu, Seoul. The meeting brought together 12 health and pharmaceutical organizations, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to check on conditions at hospitals and clinics and assess whether the supply of medical products such as syringes was proceeding without disruption.

A fourth inventory survey conducted last month by the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service found that hospital stockpiles of medical products stood at 100 to 126 percent of year-ago levels by item, confirming a stable trend. That marks an improvement over the previous survey result of 98 to 115 percent.

Conditions also improved for clinics and traditional Korean medicine practices, as the online platforms operated by their respective professional associations reverted to pre-war purchasing arrangements.

The Korean Medical Association's Doctor's Market expanded syringe supply eligibility to all clinic-level medical institutions, while the Association of Korean Medicine's AKOM Mall removed restrictions on the number of times members could purchase cupping cups.

"As the operating rates of petrochemical facilities that supply raw materials for medical products recover to pre-war levels, we plan to continue the policy of prioritizing raw material supply for medical product production through June and July," said Lee Hyeong-hun, second vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. "The government will continue to monitor the supply situation closely and maintain its preparedness until the situation is fully resolved."


thlee@heraldcorp.com