The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday reiterated its determination to facilitate easy access to drugs to further promote responsible self-medication, which it said could save people time waiting in hospitals and clinics, and considerable National Health Insurance (NHI) spending.
“As of this month, the government has issued licenses for a total of more than 26,000 drugs, of which only 7,261 are non-prescription medications — which are required to be used under the guidance of either a physician or pharmacist — and 435 are over-the-counter drugs,” FDA division of medicinal products director Liu Li-ling (劉麗玲) told a press conference in Taipei yesterday morning.
Liu said that non-prescription drugs account for just 6 percent of the nation’s overall drug sales, compared with 20 percent in more developed countries.
As part of its efforts to increase accessibility to essential drugs, Liu said the administration plans to switch as many prescription medications to non-prescription ones as possible this year.
“For the moment, we have approved the reclassification of prescription medications containing 13 kinds of ingredients, including painkillers, anti-allergy agents and gastrointestinal drugs,” Liu said. “The reclassification process is expected to be complete in June.”
Citing US research, Division of Medicinal Products section head Lien Heng-jung (連恆榮) said it is estimated that for every US$1 spent on over-the-counter drugs, the healthcare system saves about US$6 in costs.
“While non-prescription and over-the-counter drugs are not necessarily cheaper than the NT$200 average cost of a hospital visit, responsible self-medication can make the nation’s healthcare system more financially stable in the long run and in turn reduce the possibility of another NHI premium increase,” Lien said.
Lien said the policy is to be supplemented with several measures, such as making instructions for use of non-prescription drugs more comprehensible to the general public; listing an internship at a community pharmacy as a graduation requirement for pharmacology students; and incorporating self-medication information in textbooks for elementary and junior-high school students.
Another policy designed to improve access to drugs is set to take effect in March at the earliest, allowing licensed pharmaceutical companies to sell online type-B over-the-counter medicines, which can be sold in general stores, Lien said.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
RSS