Beijing community hospital confirmed: has received Pfizer's new crown drug! Full inclusion in the scope of health insurance reimbursement, priority protection for these types of people with

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Recently, the net rumor is that Beijing issued an “urgent notice on the organization of the city’s community health service institutions medical staff training in the application of antiviral drugs” (hereinafter referred to as “Notice”). The Notice points out that the antiviral drug Nematovir/Ritonavir tablets (Paxlovid) will be distributed to the community health service centers in the near future, and community doctors will guide the newly crowned patients in their districts to take them for antiviral treatment.

The Notice also mentioned that an emergency training on the application of antiviral drugs for community doctors in the city will be organized from 14:00 to 15:30 on December 26, aiming to guarantee the scientific and rational use of drugs by community doctors.

On December 26, two directors of community health service centers from Chaoyang District and Haidian District confirmed the authenticity of the Notice, but did not disclose the specific content of the meeting.

Between the afternoon and evening of December 26, the reporter contacted eight community health service centers in Dongcheng District, Chaoyang District, Fengtai District and Changping District by telephone and field visits, seven of which said they were currently out of stock and needed to listen to the city’s unified deployment.

A community health service center in Fengtai City staff Lin Wenzhuan (a pseudonym) told reporters that his community hospital has received the distribution of Paxlovid, but the number is extremely limited.

The company’s main purpose is to provide early intervention for people at high risk of serious illnesses, but the conditions for application in community hospitals are more stringent due to stockpiling. First, high fever (temperature over 38.5 degrees Celsius) for more than three consecutive days, second, blood oxygen saturation below 90%, and third, the presence of breath-holding and other conditions.

“Another point to emphasize is that only patients with a positive diagnosis can use Paxlovid, and community hospitals will report cases of infection as well as medication use, etc.” Lin said.

The company said that with limited resources, it can only give priority to patients who need the drug urgently to use Paxlovid, and residents who have a need for the drug cannot be satisfied for the time being.

Lin also said that residents can call the 120 emergency number in case of emergency, and the dialing rate and speed of emergency calls have been significantly optimized.

The company’s main goal is to provide a comprehensive range of products and services to the public. The indication is for adults with mild and common forms within 5 days of onset and with high risk factors for progression to severe disease; the dosage is 300mg of nematavir tablets taken together with 100mg of ritonavir tablets every 12 hours for 5 days; it is also contraindicated in patients who are allergic to the active ingredient or any of the excipients in the drug, and should not be used in combination with CYP3A that is highly dependent on CYP3A for clearance and whose plasma concentration It should not be used in combination with drugs that are highly dependent on CYP3A for clearance and whose elevated plasma concentrations would result in serious and/or life-threatening adverse reactions.

At a press conference held by the State Council’s Joint Prevention and Control Mechanism on December 20, Wang Guiqiang, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Peking University First Hospital, explained the drug’s medication precautions.

Wang Guiqiang said that the drug is a small-molecule antiviral drug, and its indication population is light and general type patients, and special attention should be paid to the interaction between drugs when using it.

Pei Weiqiang Wang has revealed that antiviral drugs will gradually be made available at the medical institution and community level, inviting infected people, especially those at high risk of serious illness, to use them rationally under the guidance of their doctors.

Another major concern is the price of the drug and whether it can be reimbursed. The information on the Internet shows that Paxlovid is priced at 2,300 yuan per box, and on the afternoon of Dec. 26, a reporter called the Medical Services Administration of the Beijing Municipal Medical Insurance Bureau, and the staff confirmed the price.

The staff also said that Paxlovid has been included in the Beijing medical insurance drug catalog category A, that is, the full amount of reimbursement into the scope, but need to pay attention to the level of the hospital, the outpatient starting line, the cap line and other provisions.

For example, the reimbursement rate is 90% for community hospitals and 70% for other hospitals, with an annual outpatient starting line of 1,800 yuan and a cap line of 20,000 yuan, which will no longer be set from January 1, 2023.

The staff member gave the example that in 2022, if the patient’s medical expenses incurred in the outpatient clinic are in the range of 1,800 yuan to 20,000 yuan, then a box of Paxlovid prescribed at a community hospital for 2,300 yuan will be reimbursed at 90%.