A nurse takes the health details of a senior patient at Donghuashi Community Health Center in Beijing. (Luo Xiaoguang / Xinhua)
Markups on drug prices have been abolished in the capital's hospitals as part of a series of measures to provide better, targeted treatment at lower prices.
Wu Weihong hasn't been affected by the medical reforms implemented in Beijing this month, but the new measures have had a big impact on his 61-year-old mother, who has regular treatment for chronic kidney disease.
Wu subscribes to Beijing's basic medical insurance program, which means most of his medical fees are reimbursed. However, his mother, a farmer in neighboring Hebei province, subscribes to a different program so she has to bear the entire cost herself.
"We paid 100 yuan ($14.50) to see a senior doctor," said Wu, who works for a property management company in Beijing, after accompanying his mother to the China-Japan Friendship Hospital, a major treatment center in the capital.
"In the past, the cost of seeing a similar-ranked doctor was only 7 yuan."
A patient surnamed Li, who recently had surgery at the same hospital, said he has heard about the reform in recent days and is curious to see what will happen next.
"I heard hospital drug prices have been reduced. Many patients with my illness have discussed the issue online. Some said doctors are now prescribing fewer drugs than before, so they have to go to the hospital more frequently to get new supplies," he said.
"I have not been affected by the change, but I think people who have been prescribed drugs that cost more than 1,000 yuan will feel the difference."
Prices and fees
The measures, introduced on April 8, are designed to end the markup levied on drugs prescribed at hospitals and also modify the fees for registration, consultation and treatment.
Following the implementation, the National Development and Reform Commission, the top economic planner, announced that public hospitals nationwide must end markups by the end of September.
Figures released by the Beijing Municipal Commission for Health and Family Planning show that between April 8 and 15, the amount spent on drugs per visit fell at outpatient departments in large hospitals and smaller community clinics.
Moreover, average expenditure on drugs per visit to outpatient departments at Grade A hospitals - the top-level in the country's three-tier system - was 230 yuan, 3 percent lower than the same period last year.
At a media briefing last week, Wang Hesheng, vice-minister of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, the top health authority, said: "Beijing's medical reform is heading in the right direction, and has won support from a majority of patients. We will watch the reform and promote the experience in other parts of the country."
