The Ministry of Health warns the company after the defects of thousands of insulin pens

The Ministry of Health warns the company after the defects of thousands of insulin pens


Globalx says it has replaced all failed units

THE Ministry of Health informed the company GlobalX, a supplier of reusable insulin pens used in the care of patients with diabetes in the Unified Health System (SUS), after finding defects in thousands of units.

The failures were communicated to the ministry in a letter with data from health departments of states and municipalities across the country, as reported by Coluna do Estadão in September.

According to the document, 23 state departments reported “breakages or failures” of reusable pens, and seven municipal health department boards said they use syringes to apply insulin as an alternative “to the unavailability or failure of applicators.”

Also in September the Federal Court of Auditors (TCU) warned the ministry about lack of transparency in the R$ 570 million tender for the purchase of pens. Ministers believed that the fault lay not with the company, but with a civil servant, in the decision to sign the contract in dollars. The TCU has decided to alert the ministry so that the episode is not repeated and there are no sanctions.

Defects

The ministry states that it “notified the supplier of the defective devices and the company promptly sent a shipment of 42,000 units to replace the stock.” According to the Ministry, the amount represents 1.41% of the pens distributed throughout the country.

In a statement, Globalx says it has replaced all defective units. “The company also donated, without any additional cost to the public coffers, another 1.4 million pens in addition to what was originally foreseen in the tender”, he says.

“To meet the needs of the Brazilian market and sensitive to notifications from the Ministry of Health, GlobalX maintains permanent contact with the department to promote adjustments to the device, which is already underway,” adds the company.

Deficiencies

“The quantity of reusable pens sent by the Ministry of Health is considered insufficient by the majority of SES (State Health Companies) and Cosem (Councils of Municipal Health Companies),” the document reads, adding: “Some State Health Companies are not able to serve even 30% of users.”

According to the ministry, more than 2.9 million reusable pens were delivered to the United States in September, and a new shipment of 494,000 units is expected to be delivered in October.

Source: Terra

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