How do I write a long prescription for a chronic disease?
Q: We hear more about prescriptions every day, but what is a long prescription?
A: Long-term prescriptions (referred to as "long prescriptions") are prescriptions with appropriately increased dosages prescribed by qualified physicians for eligible patients with chronic diseases. Long-term prescriptions are generally applicable to patients with chronic diseases who have a clear clinical diagnosis, stable medication regimen, good compliance, stable disease control, and require long-term drug therapy. Long-term prescriptions are generally limited to a maximum of 3 months.
Q:How does Guangzhou Medical Insurance support long term prescriptions for chronic diseases?
A: In 2020, the Municipal Health Insurance Bureau quickly responded to the needs of the public during the epidemic and actively responded to social concerns by introducing a policy on medical insurance payment for long prescriptions for chronic diseases to further reduce the number of visits to the doctor by the participants and reduce the risk of contracting diseases. For those who are entitled to treatment for specific types of outpatient diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, they can relax the prescription dosage to 3 months upon assessment by the treating doctor when they visit the designated medical institutions at Level 2 and below, and simultaneously support the designated medical institutions at Level 3 to reasonably increase the dosage of a single prescription to 1 month according to the actual situation of the patients.
Q: Why is it that some patients with chronic diseases may not be able to write long prescriptions according to the maximum limit?
A: Doctors prescribing need to follow the relevant regulations of the health and health administration department on prescription management, combine with the actual clinical condition, and only prescribe long term prescriptions for patients when it is determined that the current medication regimen is safe, effective and stable.
Prescribing long term prescriptions is specific to the different medical conditions of each individual. For example, for patients with hypertension and diabetes, medications are taken for years and months. Depending on the situation, if it is judged that the patient's blood pressure and blood sugar are well controlled for a period of time, and the medications are not adjusted, and all aspects of the condition are very stable, a long prescription can be issued. After the doctor's diagnosis, if the patient's condition is unstable or has changed, from the perspective of clinical medication safety, the doctor may not prescribe long prescriptions, or not prescribe long prescriptions for the longest time limit.
Q: Can participants who have filed for long-term off-site medical treatment be eligible for long prescriptions for chronic illnesses under medical insurance?
If a participant who has already filed for long-term off-site medical treatment makes a special outpatient visit to a designated medical institution in a foreign country, the amount of medication prescribed for a single visit may be increased reasonably according to the patient's actual situation after evaluation by the treating doctor. (Zhou Jieying)
Source: Guangzhou Daily