Expired consumables valued at 27 euros, aged 600,000 years, and discarded medications estimated at 70,000 euros were discovered at the Clinical Center of Montenegro (KCCG).

This information was obtained through an inventory of medicines, medical materials, and aids conducted in February. The inventory was commissioned by the director of the largest healthcare institution in Montenegro, Aleksandar Radovic. According to “Vijesti”, the census commission comprised representatives from the KCCG, as well as officials from the Ministry of Health and the Health Insurance Fund (FZO).

As per unofficial reports from “Vijesti”, expired medicines and disposals were noted across nearly all clinics, stored in pantries, utility rooms, and staircases…

The institution did not respond to inquiries regarding the specific quantities of items, the clinics where they were found, reasons for the delayed removal of medicines and materials, or why requisitions were made if previously acquired supplies were not utilized.

“Expired consumable medical supplies from 1998 to 2025, which were unused beyond their expiration, were documented. The estimated value of these supplies is approximately 600,000 euros. Additionally, discarded medications from the past two years were noted, valued at 70,000 euros,” they stated in their responses.

According to the KCCG, expired medicines and medical supplies were located in the warehouses of various organizational units and the main KCCG warehouse.

“Discarded medications constitute 0.012 percent of last year’s spending on medical supplies and 0.0046 percent of spending on medicine procurement,” the KCCG claims.

How much funding translates to available medicines

Last week, the Health Insurance Fund (FZO) dispatched an internal memo to “Montefarm” specifying the monthly budget available for each hospital in the country for medicines and medical supplies, mandating adherence to that budget.

This action followed findings that certain health institutions overspent their allocated funds for medicine purchases.

When asked whether “Montefarm” was instructed to halt medicine distribution to hospitals exceeding their monthly budget, the Health Insurance Fund stated they were not aware of any such suspension. They reiterated that the Ministry of Finance allocated a budget for the Health Insurance Fund, approved by Parliament, which must be adhered to, including by public health institutions.

“The annual budget for public health institutions is divided into equal monthly amounts that each institution can utilize for the procurement of medicines, medical consumables, and aids. Should an institution require more than their allocated budget, additional funding must be sourced from the Ministry of Finance and the Government (whether through budget rebalancing or reserves),” the response from the HIF noted.

The Ministry of Finance allocated approximately 452.6 million euros to the Fund for medicine procurement, despite the Health Insurance Fund proposing a budget of 535.4 million euros.

For this year, 164 million euros have been earmarked for procuring medicines through “Montefarm” and private pharmacies.

We will again pay for destruction abroad.

The future of the listed medicines and materials remains uncertain, including their storage, destruction locations, and associated costs for the state, since Montenegro currently lacks a facility for hazardous waste disposal, which includes medical waste, regarded as highly dangerous after radioactive waste.

This issue was highlighted in the Draft State Waste Management Plan for the 2025-2029 period.

“Waste producers across the nation are compelled to invest substantial amounts into hiring authorized firms for the export of hazardous waste to manage it as per the Waste Management Law or store it temporarily. A facility for the temporary storing of hazardous waste is deemed necessary, where hazardous waste collected nationwide can be repackaged and prepared for export, if needed,” the emphasis was noted.

The last significant destruction of expired medicines reported to the public occurred in October 2023, when 40 tons of medicines that had been stored since 2003 were destroyed by a private entity.

The State Audit Institution (SAI) recently published a performance audit titled “The Performance of Medical Waste Management in Montenegro,” revealing serious challenges in waste management due to a lack of strategic documents, weak institutional oversight, and inadequate data tracking.

The audit indicated that the current capabilities for disposing of this waste type are insufficient, and there is no systematic record of its generation and handling.

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