PAC wants medicine supply management system expedited

KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has suggested that the Health Ministry speed up the implementation of the information technology system which is being developed to ensure more effective medicine supply management at Health Clinics under the ministry.
PAC chairman Datuk Seri Hasan Arifin said PAC also suggested that the ministry boost publicity and awareness among the people to avoid wastage of medicine.
"The PAC urges the Health Ministry to work together with the National Audit Department (JAN) to fill vacancies of posts in the Internal Audit Division of the ministry to strengthen internal control and medicine procurement management.
"Financial regulations and procedures must always be complied with especially in the aspect of procurement, contract administration and management of payments and upgrading the aspect of supply performance monitoring," he said in a statement today.
The PAC tabled its report on the Management of Medicine Supply at Health Clinics Under The Health Ministry in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Hasan said the issue was raised during the tabling of the 2015 Series 2 Auditor-General's Report in the Dewan Rakyat on Nov 21 last year.
Following the report, he said the PAC had started a proceeding on the issue on Dec 7 by summoning Health Ministry Secretary-General Datuk Seri Dr Chen Chaw Min and Health director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah to give explanations.
He said in the proceeding, the PAC had raised issues such as medicine supplied late, enforcement, penalties and storage of medicine stock.
"Based on statements from witnesses who were summoned before the PAC, the committee unanimously agrreed that the explanations given by the Health Ministry especially on the aspects of improvement in the keeping of stock and internal control for procurement of medicine were satisfactory," he said.
He said the recommendations from the PAC was towards improving the management of medicine supply at the ministry's Health Clinics in the future. — Bernama