The interdistrict hospital in the Altai district of East Kazakhstan region received goods and services from local businesses but failed to pay for them, prompting intervention by the regional prosecutor's office, reports infohub.kz.
During an inspection, prosecutors found violations of public procurement law by the state enterprise 'Interdistrict Hospital of Altai District'. 'The medical institution allowed the accumulation of overdue debt to suppliers for goods, work, and services already provided,' the statement said.
Only after the prosecutor's supervisory order did the hospital fully settle its overdue accounts with 37 suppliers. The total payment amounted to 106.47 million tenge. It is not reported over what period the state hospital accumulated this debt. The supervisory authority emphasized that the prosecutor's measures ensured the state enterprise fulfilled its obligations to businesses.
Earlier, infohub.kz reported that the Ministry of Health developed new rules for purchasing medical equipment using budget funds and compulsory social health insurance. The main innovation is that hospitals will be allowed to lease equipment directly from manufacturers. Also, according to the draft order, the threshold for the cost of medical devices subject to expert evaluation will be lowered from 20 million to 10 million tenge, and for lease purchases, from 5 million tenge.
Earlier, the Ministry of Health prepared changes to the accreditation rules for medical laboratories responsible for examining drugs and medical devices. Now, the certificate will be issued digitally through the e-government portal in just two days.