Collective bargaining good for patients

The first round of the collective purchasing of high-cost medical consumables began on Thursday, achieving a fruitful result on that day, as stents, medical devices that keep a narrowed or blocked artery open for blood to flow more freely and thus help patients survive, witnessed a price drop of over 93 percent.

Previously, the average price for a stent was about 13,000 yuan ($1,966.9). After the negotiations, the middle point price for all types of stents had fallen to about 700 yuan each. The newly priced products are expected to be put into use in January.

For patients of the whole nation, that's doubtlessly good news. Official data show that the number of patients with cardiovascular disorders was 330 million in 2019, with about 1.5 million stents used in surgeries. Without the collective purchasing, these patients and their families paid about 20,000 yuan for each surgery with only one stent implanted, and in case they need to replace them there would possibly be more cost. Worse, patients might die if they could not pay for the surgery.

The price drop is obviously good news for patients. But it is also good news for hospitals, as now they can buy more stents and save more lives. As a doctor specializing in angiocardiopathy, I appreciate the efforts of those who negotiated the lower prices as they will enable me to help my patients.

The drop in price would have been unattainable without the move of collective purchasing of high-cost medical consumables, which is a good example of administrative institutions acting to raise efficiency and better serve the people.

High-value medical consumables are in great demand clinically and without the collective purchasing are priced relatively high as they have strict requirements for safety.

Some worry whether the price drop means the companies that make stents will cut corners trying to reduce their costs, which might put people's lives at risk. But they should rest assured that although the stents cost less, the devices will still have to meet the same strict quality standards.

－TAN QINDONG, A BEIJING-BASED DOCTOR