Despite research showing that adverse reactions to the epilepsy drug Carbamazepine are highly frequent, patients who have such reactions will not qualify for the Department of Health’s (DOH) drug relief program because the drug is mainly prescribed by doctors for “off-label” use, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) said yesterday.
At a press conference yesterday, Huang cited the case of a man, surnamed Hsu (徐), who had experienced an adverse reaction to the drug but could not receive drug relief compensation, saying that this highlighted a serious problem caused by the failure of the health authorities to provide the public with protection against drugs that were prescribed off-label.
Doctors may legally prescribe drugs off-label if the drug is safe to use and found to be effective in treating a certain condition that it has not yet been approved for. For example, Carbamazepine, which has been officially approved for use in treating epilepsy, is also often prescribed by doctors as a mood stabilizer or pain reliever.
“While it is legal for doctors to prescribe drugs off-label, patients who follow their doctor’s instructions to take the drug cannot receive any help or compensation if they have an adverse reaction because the DOH’s drug relief program then deems off-label use illegal, which is unreasonable,” Huang said.
Huang cited statistics from the Drug Relief Foundation, which showed that from 2005 until last year, there were 299 cases of patients who had adverse reactions to drugs but could not receive compensation. Of the 299 cases, 101 (34 percent) were patients who used off-label drugs.
She also cited a research study by Academia Sinica in April 2004 that showed as many as 5 percent of people in Taiwan carry a gene that has shown to increase the risk of developing Stevens Johnson syndrome as a reaction to taking Carbamazepine. As a result, compared with the relatively low rate of white Caucasians who carry this gene, Taiwanese are 30 times more at risk of developing the syndrome in reaction to the drug.
Huang urged DOH officials to re-evaluate whether Carbamazepine should be legally approved as safe for use in the country, as well as provide drug relief for patients who suffer from adverse drug reactions as a result of off-label use.
Hsu Chien-wen (喋??, deputy director of the Food and Drug Administration’s division of drug and new biotechnology products, said that as no drug is 100 percent safe, doctors are advised to continue monitoring patients’ progress while they are taking them.
She said DOH officials would invite experts to discuss drug relief assistance and compensation.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard