National Health Insurance (NHI) data analysis projects not only bolster the protection of the public’s health, but also influence drug reimbursement policies. Throughout the NHI’s 26-year history, as of March 2005, domestic academics have published around 6,550 research publications based on NHI data in international medical journals. To allow Taiwan to enjoy the fruits of NHI data analysis, the National Health Insurance Administration’s (NHIA) official website now provide access the papers.
The NHIA said that it began a pilot program to test the efficacy of reimbursement-covered drug for hepatitis B in 2006, and by 2012, researchers have verified that the drug has drastically reduced mortality among patients, leading to its official inclusion under NHI reimbursement in 2013.
NHIA Director General Lee Po-chang said that many medical research institutions utilize NHI data, which further reinforces the value of the data, adding that the government will continue to expand the provision of data for reference by all stakeholder groups. To facilitate a greater diversity of projects, authorities have revised guidelines requiring submission of documents verifying that the use of the data is intended for human clinical trials and that health privacy is ensured and guarded against data leaks.
Chao Wei-hsiang, chief of the NHIA’s Department of Planning, said that the 6,550 research papers cover topics ranging from health care policy and management, treatment of diseases, drug efficacy and disease risk factors. Around 6,400 research papers are focused on Western medicine, among them around 26.8 percent are on genetic, neurological and psychological conditions, with 0.8 percent being that of pharmacology and 0.5 percent on dentistry.
The NHIA’s Department of Medical Affairs said that since a pilot program providing reimbursed hepatitis B drug that usually cost between NT$6,000 and NT$7,000 monthly was implemented to ease financial burdens on patients in 2006, Dr. Wu Chun-ying, an attending physician at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital’s Gastroenterology and Hepatology Department in 2012, published a research paper based on NHI data on the Journal of the American Medical Association, which showed vastly lowered mortality among hepatitis B patients that were prescribed the drug.
Findings published in the report showed that the drug brought substantial improvements for hepatitis B patients and prompted the NHIA to officially extend reimbursement to prescribing hospitals and later in 2018 to clinics for the benefit of more patients.
【2021-4-20/Apple Daily】
