The Ministry of Health has improved the process of purchasing and distributing high-cost medical equipment: the recommendations of the Accounting Chamber have been implemented

Criteria for the distribution of high-cost medical equipment purchased from the state budget have been determined, and other measures have been taken to normalize the process of effective distribution of such equipment between hospitals. These changes occurred due to the implementation of the recommendations of the Accounting Chamber, provided after the audit on the procurement of high-cost equipment by the Ministry of Health (MOH) to improve the quality of medical care and diagnostics of citizens.

It should be noted that The report on this audit was approved on December 17, 2024. The auditors analyzed the first centralized procurement of high-value (over UAH 1.6 billion) medical equipment from the State Budget of Ukraine for healthcare institutions that provide medical care to military personnel and/or oncological medical care. The procurement in 2023 was carried out by the State Enterprise "Medical Procurement of Ukraine". It was found that out of 44 units of purchased equipment, only two were put into operation at the time of the audit (in 2024).

The auditors identified the reasons for such delays and provided recommendations to the Ministry of Health to eliminate them.

In order to implement the recommendations, amendments were made to the Procedure for the Use of Funds Provided in the State Budget to Ensure the Implementation of Medical Measures of Individual State Programs and Comprehensive Program Measures by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. From now on, this document specifies the criteria based on which medical equipment will be distributed between healthcare institutions. The Procedure also sets out clear deadlines for the Ministry of Health to issue an order on the distribution of purchased medical equipment.

The Ministry of Health also reviewed the composition of the group of experts and specialists who accompany the procurement and included in it persons who have the qualifications necessary to assess the medical and technical characteristics of the purchased medical equipment.

Three more recommendations, which were to be implemented as of March 1, 2025, are still in the implementation stage. In particular, the structural unit that will be responsible for monitoring the installation and commissioning of high-cost medical equipment has not yet been determined.

As part of the implementation of the recommendation on analyzing the reasons for the long-term failure to install and commission purchased equipment, the Ministry of Health introduced monthly monitoring of the status of commissioning such equipment on February 21, 2025.

The officials of the Financial and Economic Department of the Ministry of Health, who were responsible for collecting and summarizing applications from hospitals for the distribution of medical equipment, were subject to disciplinary measures in the form of a warning.

The Accounting Chamber continues to monitor the implementation of the recommendations of this audit and will inform the public about their implementation.