Dalian Medical University Reports Findings in Cancer (The usage and costs of national drug price-negotiated anticancer medicines in a first-tier city in Northeast China: a study based on health insurance data): Cancer

2024 MAY 29 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Cancer is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating in Dalian, People’s Republic of China, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “The National Drug Price Negotiation (NDPN) policy has entered a normalisation stage, aiming to alleviate, to some extent, the disease-related and economic burdens experienced by cancer patients. This study analysed the use and subsequent burden of anticancer medicines among cancer patients in a first-tier city in northeast China.”

Financial support for this research came from Liaoning Provincial Department of Education.

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research from Dalian Medical University, “We assessed the usage of 64 negotiated anticancer medicines using the data on the actual drug deployment situation, the frequency of medical insurance claims and actual medication costs. The affordability of these medicines was measured using the catastrophic health expenditure (CHE) incidence and intensity of occurrence. Finally, we used the defined daily doses (DDDs) and defined daily doses cost (DDDc) as indicators to evaluate the actual use of these medicines in the region. During the study period, 63 of the 64 medicines were readily available. From the perspective of drug usage, the frequency of medical insurance claims for negotiated anticancer medicines and medication costs showed an increasing trend from 2018 to 2021. Cancer patients typically sought medical treatment at tertiary hospitals and purchased medicines at community pharmacies. The overall quantity and cost of medications for patients covered by the Urban Employee Basic Medical Insurance (UEBMI) were five times higher than those covered by the Urban and Rural Resident Medical Insurance (URRMI). The frequency of medical insurance claims and medication costs were highest for lung and breast cancer patients. Furthermore, from 2018 to 2021, CHE incidence showed a decreasing trend (2.85-1.60%) under urban patients’ payment capability level, but an increasing trend (11.94%-18.42) under rural patients’ payment capability level. The average occurrence intensities for urban (0.55-1.26 times) and rural (1.27-1.74 times) patients showed an increasing trend. From the perspective of drug utilisation, the overall DDD of negotiated anticancer medicines showed an increasing trend, while the DDDc exhibited a decreasing trend. This study demonstrates that access to drugs for urban cancer patients has improved. However, patients’ medical behaviours are affected by some factors such as hospital level and type of medical insurance.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “In the future, the Chinese Department of Health Insurance Management should further improve its work in promoting the fairness of medical resource distribution and strengthen its supervision of the nation’s health insurance funds.”

For more information on this research see: The usage and costs of national drug price-negotiated anticancer medicines in a first-tier city in Northeast China: a study based on health insurance data. BMC Public Health, 2024;24(1):1309. BMC Public Health can be contacted at: Bmc, Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9XW, England. (BioMed Central - http://www.biomedcentral.com/; BMC Public Health - http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpublichealth/)

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Ya-Qun Wang, School of Public Health, Dalian Medical University, Dalian, People’s Republic of China. Additional authors for this research include Bao-Xin Li, Yuan-Yuan Yi, Na Zhou, Zi-Xuan Lv, Rui Ma, Xin Li and Ni Yuan.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18820-3. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

The publisher of the journal BMC Public Health can be contacted at: Bmc, Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9XW, England.

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