Hong Kong adds 16 free medications to subsidised diabetes, hypertension screening scheme – Technologist

“The expansion provides participating family doctors with more drug options to cater for the different clinical prescription needs of participants,” a bureau spokesman said.

“The government included 16 additional drug items in the basic-tier drug list this month, covering antihypertensive drugs, lipid-regulating drugs, antibiotics and drugs for treating associated health problems.”

According to the bureau, the list covers basic medications for chronic diseases and episodic illnesses. Participants in the government-subsidised scheme are not charged for such drugs.

The three-year scheme was launched last November as a key initiative of the Primary Healthcare Blueprint with the aim to achieve “early prevention, early detection and early treatment”.

People aged 45 or above with no known medical history of diabetes or hypertension can take part in the subsidised initiative to undergo screening for the diseases and receive long-term follow-up with a family doctor of their choice.

About 56,000 people have joined as of August 7, and more than 32,000 have completed the screening. About 13,000 of them have been diagnosed with prediabetes, diabetes or hypertension.

Participants diagnosed with prediabetes are eligible for a maximum of four subsidised consultations per year, while those diagnosed with diabetes and hypertension are entitled to as many as six subsidised consultations per year.

They are charged a fixed amount of HK$120 for the screening consultation, but the fee for consultations during the treatment phase is determined by doctors.

The bureau said fee adjustments for treatment consultations would take effect from September 1. Among the 718 service points, 672, or nearly 94 per cent, will maintain their existing fees.

Eight service points will cut fees by HK$50 to HK$350, while 38 providers will raise prices by HK$20 to HK$250.

The spokesman said two-thirds of the service points, or 473 locations, would charge at a level equal to or below the government-recommended amount of HK$150.

Tim Pang Hung-cheong, a patients’ rights advocate with the Society for Community Organisation, said he agreed with the addition of drugs to the scheme’s coverage.

But he said the government should clearly state that participants would be charged for medications on the list if they were not diagnosed with diabetes or hypertension.

He said a scheme participant, who was not found to have diabetes or hypertension but had a high level of blood lipids, told him that he had to pay a few hundred dollars for drugs at a doctor’s practice under the programme.

Pang also suggested setting an upper limit for the treatment consultation fee patients had to pay as a long term measure.

Local media earlier reported that the bureau was planning to expand the scheme to patients diagnosed with high blood lipid levels.

Pang said the scheme might still struggle to attract patients even with high blood lipid levels covered, calling on the government to include more diseases.

“Since we are testing the participants’ blood anyway, how about also testing other preventable diseases or even cancers?” he said.