The media said that the NDRC requested that price reduction drugs be difficult to buy in pharmacies

Recently, the National Development and Reform Commission issued a document, starting from September 1, the price cuts for 82 kinds of 459 formulations of drugs, the average price reduction rate of 14%. The price reduction drugs are mainly hormones, endocrine and nervous system drugs. This is also the second time this year that the National Development and Reform Commission has reduced the prices of drugs.

The price cuts for drugs have been frequent, and the proportion of hospital drug revenues has also dropped significantly. The current situation of “taking drugs to support medical care” is slowly easing up. However, the reporter’s investigation still found that after the price reduction, some low-priced medicines “replaced their vests” and were born or disappeared. The “expensive drug prices” and the voice of the “admirable” people still exist, and the pharmacies at the end of drug sales also have “ Unable to tell the pain, I hope we can solve the problem of high drug prices from the source.

Reporter's investigation: Price reduction drugs are mostly prescription drugs

According to reports, the medicines for this price reduction are mainly hormones, endocrine-adjusting drugs and nervous system drugs. The users of these drugs are basically long-term drugs. A total of 82 varieties and 459 formulations were involved, with an average price reduction of 14%.

The reporters inquired about the list of price-cutting drugs and found that the drugs for this price reduction are mainly injections and tablets. For example, in the case of unified pricing drugs, triamcinolone acetonide included in this price reduction range is widely applicable to all kinds of skin diseases, such as neurodermatitis, eczema, psoriasis, etc., as well as joint pain, bronchial asthma, frozen shoulder, tenosynovitis, Symptoms of acute sprains, chronic low back pain, and ophthalmological inflammation. After the price adjustment, the highest price for Triammonide 40 ml injection is 12.3 yuan, and the highest price for 6 ml spray is 31.8 yuan.

The reporter visited the pharmacy and found that several major chain pharmacies in Shenzhen were the same, Zhonglian, Neptune and other stars did not see these drugs. Pharmacists at the Lotus North Accord Drugstore told the reporter that because most of the price reductions are prescription drugs, pharmacies are generally not sold, and these prescription drugs must be purchased with a doctor's prescription.

In addition, this price reduction also stipulates the maximum retail price limit for many individually priced varieties, 80% of which are individually priced by the limited price of foreign pharmaceutical giants, and a total of 96 formulations with individually priced drugs reduces the maximum retail price limit. For example, the maximum retail price limit for each box of acarbose tablets (50mg×30) produced by Bayer HealthCare Co., Ltd. is 74.2 yuan, which is 8 yuan less than the price of 82.2 yuan that the reporter investigated at the pharmacy. However, the reporter found that in the list of imported drugs that are reduced in price, few are available at pharmacies. Pharmacists told reporters that because these imported medicines are relatively expensive, they are not included in the health insurance system. The public rarely go to pharmacies to buy such expensive medicines, and these medicines are mostly prescription medicines, and patients often go to hospitals to purchase.

Drugstores are difficult to buy price-cutting drugs

In March this year, the National Development and Reform Commission lowered the maximum retail price of medicines in 162 varieties and nearly 1300 formulations. These medicines are mainly used for antibiotics and circulatory system medicines for the treatment of infections and cardiovascular diseases. The average reduction is the price before adjustment. 21%.

Yesterday, the reporter found in the survey that the same drug, the country's limited price has become the lowest price of the drug, and the price of the same drug produced by other different models and different manufacturers should be higher than the limited maximum price. For example, the reporter found in several pharmacies that the price of felodipine sustained-release tablets (5mg×20) commonly used by hypertensive patients from March 28 after performing the maximum price of 26.2 yuan was already available to patients at pharmacies. The lowest prices for these medicines, as well as the different dosage forms of felodipine sustained-release tablets in the list of price reductions, are not available for drugs that cost as little as 7.9 yuan or 13.5 yuan.

Hospitals: Significant decline in drug revenue

Both the antibiotics and circulatory system drugs that were lowered in March of this year, and the price-reducing hormones and nervous system drugs, these drugs are mostly prescription drugs. Two drug price cuts will benefit patients who come to the hospital.

Yesterday, in Shenzhen Beida Hospital, Mr. Qin Lao, a hypertensive patient, and the reporter worked out a drug account. He took irbesartan capsule (150mg×7) for controlling blood pressure as an example. Before he bought a box of medicine for 27 yuan, he needed to take one tablet a day. The average daily cost was 3.85 yuan. After the price reduction, the maximum retail price of irbesartan capsules (150mg×7) is now 21.4 yuan, which means that he can save 0.8 yuan per day on this drug, and save 5.6 yuan per week. The cost of saving 365 days in the year is 292 yuan. "For those old patients who want to take drugs for a long time, how much is reduced?" Mr. Qin said, and he is now more sick in old age. The last drop in medicine has given him a lot of benefits.

Patients' drug costs decreased, and hospital drug profits also decreased significantly. The person in charge of the Department of Pharmacy at Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital told the reporter that the impact of the drop in drug prices on the hospital is very large. “The revenue of medicines accounts for a significant drop in the total revenue of the hospital.” He explained that in order to control “medicine The hospital has also been constantly controlling drug costs under the guidance of the policy. Since the price adjustment in March, the hospital's drug revenue has dropped from 40% of the previous total hospital revenue to the current 38%. He pointed out that after this downward adjustment, the proportion of pharmaceutical income will also decline.

Drug companies: The drug pricing system needs to be standardized

Despite frequent price cuts, most citizens still feel that they do not realize price reductions, whether they are in hospitals or pharmacies, and the voice of “high drug prices” and ordinary people’s “expensiveness” still exists. On the contrary, it is obvious that after the price reduction, some low-priced medicines are often revived or disappeared. They “can't buy the medicines that they could buy before.” Obviously, under the “remedy for medicine” system, 15% The right to increase prices is still tempting the medical institutions to favor high-priced drugs. For price-cutting medicines, companies and hospitals often try their best to find alternative medicines.

For the public’s reflection, some pharmaceutical companies also told reporters that they have “unreportable suffering”. The relevant person in charge of Zhonglian University Pharmacy told reporters that after each price reduction, there will always be a group of drugs that are “missing” because the price is too low. After changing to a “vest”, they will appear again with the appearance of high-priced drugs. They also feel that they are the terminal agents for drug sales. Very helpless. Because, once the price drop of medicines is too large, companies will no longer produce the low-priced medicines or help the medicines to change their face, causing the pharmaceutical industry to suffer a phenomenon of “a drop or death”. At the same time, there are other similar high-priced medicines or similar-priced medicines that have been replaced. Therefore, many patients would not feel the price reduction of medicines.

The person in charge said that to solve the “expensive to see a doctor” problem, it is not enough to rely on price cuts for medicines. It has to start from the source, and at the same time, it must also introduce some measures to support pharmaceutical companies and standardize all aspects of drug circulation. And improvement can ultimately solve the problem of “high drug prices” and “expensive medical services.”