FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
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Failure to submit drug price list can result in jail, fine

Failure to submit drug price list can result in jail, fine

The Department of Internal Trade (DIT) will summon hospitals and drug manufacturers as well as importers who have missed the July 31 deadline for reporting the price of drugs, with the caution that a failure to report will result in fines and/or imprisonment.
Wichai Photchanakij, the department’s director general, said that 37 of 353 hospitals across the nation had failed to report on time, that 14 needed to resubmit documents due to incomplete data, while four were not required to submit data as their status has been changed to clinic.
Meanwhile, 81 out of 345 drug manufacturers/importers nationwide had failed to file their reports on time, 19 did not fit the criteria, while five cannot be contacted.
“The department has issued summonses for those who have missed the deadline,” he said. “They need to come in before the end of this month to explain why they have not produced the required documents. Failure to comply will result in a maximum of three months in jail and/or Bt5,000 in fines based on the Product and Service Prices Act.”
Wichai added that as of August 1, hospitals that have still not submitted the report can face up to a year in prison and/or Bt20,000 in fine, including Bt2,000 fine daily until the report is submitted.
DIT will use the data submitted by hospitals and drug companies to create a database and allocate a QR code to each drug which will have to be displayed prominently in each hospital. Customers can then scan these QR codes to check the standard price of each drug before making a purchase.
“If you find that the hospital is selling drugs at unusually high prices, you can file a complaint with the department and we will investigate the matter promptly,” he added.
The QR code system can be used from August 16, while the drug database is available on www.dit.go.th.

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