Vietnam's "too complex" drug distribution

Vietnam's "overly complex" distribution system with "too many wholesalers acting as middlemen" has been blamed for chaos in the supply of drugs to hospitals in the Southeast Asian country by a French commentator.

Speaking at a training conference on hospital pharmacology in Hanoi, Vietnam's capital, Andre Coulange argued that the government was not in a position to control the supply of drugs to hospitals.

According to the Vietnamese news agency, Mr Coulange said that Vietnam lacks clear regulations on drug distributors, prices and profits and suggested that the government should impose "ceiling surplus levels" on wholesalers and pharmacies and set fixed prices on packaging.