THE varieties of chronic disease medications available at Shenzhen’s community health centers have increased to 233 this year to ensure the medicine supply for chronic disease patients’ follow-up visits, the city’s health commission said.

At the same time, the city has also implemented a number of new reform measures in reducing patients’ drug expenditures and ensuring drug safety.

According to the commission, the city’s community centers’ previous chronic medication list had only 63 kinds of drugs for hypertension and diabetes. This year’s new list covers six additional kinds of diseases including chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, coronary heart disease, sequelae of cerebrovascular diseases, rheumatoid arthritis, bronchial asthma and chronic hepatitis B.

Shenzhen has also established a long-term prescription mechanism for chronic diseases in community health centers. To ensure safety, chronic disease patients in stable condition who are covered by the city’s medical insurance, have signed a family doctor and need long-term medications can get a prescription for one to three months.

The city’s health commission has worked to improve the working mechanism to ensure the supply of drugs in shortage, as well as the preferential drug policies of community health institutions to reduce the burden on patients.

Official data showed that in the first half of 2021, the proportion of drug expenses in the city’s public hospitals’ overall medical expenses decreased to 21.6 percent, which is far lower than relevant national requirements (less than 30 percent).

(Zhang Yu)