23-Nov-15 Vietnam's will increase public hospital fees in early 2016, instead of Dec-15, Nguyen Nam Lien, the Ministry of Health has said. With this fee increase, patients will pay two to four times more than when using healthcare services at state-owned hospitals. Currently 73% of the population is covered by health insurance, which means 25 mn people are self-paying. [image: Dantri]

12-Nov-15 Myanmar's public hospitals are now permitted to procure pharmaceuticals through a tender system. In 2014, the volume of drugs available at public hospitals was 35 times higher than in 2011. The tender system is expected to reduce the surpluses and shortages that were common under the former rationing system. [image: Taipei Times]

05-Nov-15 Korea's Fair Trade Commission has launched an investigation of Siemens Korea’s alleged unfair business practices in the field of medical equipment. According to the FTC, Siemens has refused to provide MRI and CT equipment software ownership and provided only the right to use the software.

05-Nov-15 China has launched a three-year pilot scheme to loosen approvals for new drugs, the country's food and drug regulator said, as Beijing looks to help stimulate innovation in the country's pharmaceutical sector. The trial will allow research and development bodies to seek drug approvals, which are currently restricted to drug manufacturers. [image: ET Healthworld]

22-Oct-15 China's recently-announced reform of county-level hospitals is seriously underfunded, according to experts. Fudan University professor Hu Shanlian said "Now that hospitals are no longer allowed to mark up drugs, the drop in their revenue is huge". Hospitals are expected to raise service fees to compensate, however this may also raise expenses for patients, defeating the purpose of the reforms. [image: South China Morning Post]