Reported by Dai Ya-Chen from Taipei
The MOHW expressed today that Taiwan is the 5th country in the world to establish legal basis for the treatment of rare diseases. The Taiwanese government is to gradually include drugs for treating 210 rare diseases into the NHI reimbursement scheme.
Premier Chang San-Cheng visited the Care Center for Rare Neurodegenerative Diseases in TaiChung, the first of its kind in Taiwan. He expressed that patients of rare diseases and their families are struggling to cope with their daily life due to the lack of relevant information and knowledge. They are the vulnerable group in the society.
Premier Chang expressed that the Care Center for Rare Neurodegenerative Diseases provides professional care for the vulnerable patients to help them improve or restore the quality of life.
Premier Chang stressed that the government will strengthen the corresponding measures, including streamlined administration process, the establishment of the long-term care program and the social care system, etc. The Center plays a pivotal role in improving the whole care system, said Premier Chang.
The MOHW expressed that the government has already formulated a plan to gradually include the drugs for treating 210 rare diseases into the NHI reimbursement scheme. The government has also established a logistics center for the distribution of special nutrients for rare diseases and drugs for unmet medical needs, set up genetic counselling centers in northern, central, southern and eastern Taiwan, as well as put forward a subsidy scheme for rare diseases.
The Care Center for Rare Neurodegenerative Diseases was established in November 2015, providing 49 beds for patients with Spinocerebellar atrophy, Multiple sclerosis, Huntington's disease and Wilson's disease.
The MOHW expressed that the center also provides long-distance medical counselling services and video meetings with carers to offer them relevant information.
【2016-03-06/ Central News Agency】
