National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) Director General Lee Po-chang attended a forum on fighting cancer with preventative precision medicine on March 28 and pointed out that the number of cancer patients in Taiwan have grown steadily, adding to the total treatment costs for the disease. The bulk of spending on cancer were on diagnostics, followed by drugs.
Data from 2019 show that the number of cancer patients last year reached 757,000, with total spending reaching NT$110.8 billion, representing one-sixth of the annual National Health Insurance (NHI) global budget. Of the NT$28.9 billion spent on drugs for cancer patients, targeted therapy drugs made up of the bulk of the spending at NT$17.1 billion.
In addition, since the NHI began reimbursing oncology immunotherapies for eight cancer types and eleven indications in April 2019, 17,93 cancer patients have been enrolled in immunotherapy, of which lung cancer patients were the most numerous with 446 patients. However, only around 20 percent of immunotherapy patients had responded positively to treatment.
Director General Lee said that artificial intelligence (AI) technology have begun to be adopted in oncology treatment and are being used to provide precise analysis of patient data. In the fight against cancer, precision medicine is vitally needed. Due to the high price of new drugs, the NHIA has been actively looking for ways to reduce expenditure. To cut costs, cloud systems are now used to transmit medical imaging between hospitals for second opinions without the need for repeated testing, which also has the benefit of less radiation exposure for patients.
Director General Lee said that although Taiwan’s NHI system has gained global renown, such praises have come at the cost of the medical community, who have claimed that the interests of physicians and hospitals have been neglected. Amid rising expenditure and financial strain, it is hoped that the adoption of data analysis and precision medicine can help in preserving the sustainability and fiscal soundness of the NHI.
[2020-03-28 / United Daily News]
