Promoting the price difference of the same kind of drugs between the mainland and Hong Kong by medicine

August 14, 2013 source: People's Daily recently, due to price and other factors, many mainlanders began to buy drugs in Hong Kong The boss of a large drugstore in the west of Hong Kong told reporters that the daily sales volume was 100000 Hong Kong dollars, of which about half were mainlanders How much is the difference between the drug prices of the mainland and Hong Kong? Why? What are the risks of buying medicine in Hong Kong? How to avoid it? The reporter interviewed this How much is the difference in drug prices between the mainland and Hong Kong? Some drugs of the same specification may be less than 10000 yuan in a large drugstore on Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong Mr Zheng, a passenger from the mainland, wants to buy a breast cancer medicine Herceptin for his friends Herceptin is not included in the list of medical insurance in most provinces in the mainland, and it belongs to the self paid medicine of patients The price quoted by the shop assistant is HK $23000 (about RMB 18400) The salesperson also took out a brochure, on which he marked the price of the mainland, "for Herceptin of the same specification, the price in the mainland is 25000 yuan." Mr Zheng said Although it is more than 6000 yuan cheaper than the mainland, Mr Zheng still compares three stores, and finds that a drugstore in Des Voeux Road, west ring, offers only 18500 Hong Kong dollars (about 14800 yuan) A pharmacist at Beijing Cancer Hospital told reporters that 440 mg of Herceptin costs 24500 yuan in Beijing The boss of a large drugstore in the west of Hong Kong told reporters that the daily sales volume was 100000 Hong Kong dollars, of which about half were mainlanders The proportion of pharmacies in Causeway Bay area is higher Why are mainland medicines more expensive than Hong Kong? Experts believe that the mainland "raises the price of medicine" and Hong Kong tax-free lowers the price of medicine Cui Junming, President of Hong Kong Hospital Pharmacist Association, believes that the price of medicine in Hong Kong is cheap because of the extremely simple sales chain between the pharmaceutical factory and the patients, and there is no intermediate exploitation In addition, the government managed hospitals should purchase drugs from the medical authority without commission The government should bear the cost of drugs used in public hospitals All drugs are sold at the original price In mainland pharmacies or hospitals, there will be drug price hikes, as well as commissions to doctors, which are "the wool is on the sheep", which will eventually be included in the drug price Therefore, when pricing, pharmaceutical companies should also consider commissions, layers of distribution costs, etc A person in charge of Shanghai Roche Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., a Herceptin producer, explained that the main reason for the drug price gap in Hong Kong is the tax rate The sales price of Herceptin in the mainland is approved by the national development and Reform Commission Guo yunpei, vice president of China Pharmaceutical Enterprise Management Association, believes that the price difference comes from two aspects One is that imported drugs belong to the original research drugs and have the right to price separately Even after the patent protection period, the price remains relatively high Second, in terms of tariffs, Hong Kong is lower than the mainland According to Professor Shi Luwen of the pharmaceutical administration teaching and Research Office of Peking University Medical Department, the pricing of imported drugs is generally divided into three categories: one is based on market independent pricing; the other is based on independent pricing, including original research drugs, patent drugs and exclusive varieties, enjoying the independent pricing right of the development and Reform Commission, and Herceptin belongs to this category; the other is based on the implementation of the maximum retail price limit, which is generally included in the medical insurance catalog, and domestic The drug pricing method is the same According to the historical records, the different prices of drugs in the mainland and Hong Kong are not only related to the economic level, drug use habits, public awareness and doctors' drug use habits, but also related to the drug price mechanism in the mainland The 15% mark up of drugs has raised the drug price How to prevent the high price of imported drugs? According to the historical records, the first thing is to compare the prices of drugs internationally For countries with similar economic development level and the same medical insurance reimbursement system, the prices of the same kind of drugs should be similar At the same time, we should strengthen the research of pharmacoeconomics and make reasonable price for imported drugs according to the price level of related drugs in China Will doctors in Hong Kong be affected by drug factories? The medicine of public hospitals is separated, and doctors' medication is generally not affected; private doctors can be affected Since the interest relationship between pharmaceutical companies and doctors is one of the reasons for the inflated price of drugs in the mainland, what is the relationship between pharmaceutical companies and doctors in Hong Kong? In Hong Kong, pharmaceutical companies also influence doctors in some ways For example, pharmaceutical companies pay for seminars, or ask doctors to visit pharmaceutical companies abroad The drug factory is responsible for the transportation and accommodation expenses "However, the activity must have something to do with the business If it's the cost of the by-pass tour, such as the admission fee for the scenic spot, the doctor must pay for it by himself." Cui Junming said that such seminars and overseas visits should be conducted through the Institute rather than directly contacting doctors "In Hong Kong, first, doctors have professional ethics Second, their income is very high, and they are unlikely to violate morality for petty profit Therefore, the actual influence of pharmaceutical companies on doctors' drug decision-making is not great." Moreover, to accept a domestic helper is a criminal responsibility Once verified by the ICAC, the reputation and future of doctors will be destroyed But pharmaceutical companies can influence private doctors, because there is no separation of medicine, private doctors can decide what kind of medicine to use Private doctors can get benefits from pharmaceutical factories by buying 10 for free and selling 2 to patients without any discount How can Hong Kong public hospitals restrict doctors from prescribing and abusing drugs? Independent pharmacists are the gatekeepers to prevent doctors from over prescribing The power of medication is in the hands of doctors However, the pharmacist who dispenses the medicine should verify the prescription and guide the patients to use the medicine Although pharmacists will not interfere with the doctor's prescription, they are actively involved in dosage and taking suggestions In addition, the pharmaceutical Committee in public hospitals will regularly check whether the dosage of each drug deviates from normal With the help of the pharmacist and the Pharmacy Committee, doctors can't prescribe more medicine for others In addition, the pharmacy will regularly publish important data on drug use for inspection by various departments "At the time of the announcement, the heads of every department were nervous and afraid of the abuse of drugs by first-line doctors," Cui said Is it the best choice to buy medicine in Hong Kong? It's not uncommon for Hong Kong drugstores to sell drugs illegally Customers are at risk to buy drugs in order to make money Many salesmen in Hong Kong will sell drugs to customers even if they can't see the prescription Even if they are caught selling drugs illegally, they will only be fined tens of thousands of yuan Therefore, illegal drug sales are not uncommon, but the risk will be borne by customers According to Cui Junming, there are three risks for mainlanders to buy drugs in Hong Kong: first, after-sales service is hard to guarantee Drugs are not absolutely safe Many drugs will find problems after being used for a period of time Compared with the plasticizer event that happened before, the pharmaceutical factory will notify the hospital to recycle and the hospital will notify the patients again After mainland people buy drugs in Hong Kong, drugstores do not know the situation of customers at all, so they are unable to follow up the after-sales service Even if the drugs need to be recycled, it is difficult to notify the patients In addition, the salesmen of drugstores are not professional pharmacists Some patients must know the information about the use of drugs, such as some drugs can't be driven or lie down after taking, which are difficult to ensure accurate communication Second, in Hong Kong, it is possible to buy medicines in water or fake goods Aquatic products refer to drugs that enter the Hong Kong market through abnormal channels, such as those in India, many of which are cheaper than those in Hong Kong Although there is no problem with the quality of the drugs, they may be contaminated during the transportation Finally, the prices of Hong Kong drugstores are free floating Although they are generally cheaper than those in the mainland, the staff are likely to increase their prices and sell them to the mainland people "The salesman wants to do business If the patient wants to buy medicine a, but the drugstore doesn't have one, he will introduce medicine B better and persuade customers to consume it," Cui said The Hong Kong Consumer Council has received a number of such complaints Cui Junming suggested that if you want to buy medicine in Hong Kong, you can find a private doctor This channel is safer than a drugstore Once a private doctor is found selling fake medicine, he will face the penalty of revoking his license plate, so few people take risks In addition, there are no restrictions on the prescription of private doctors in Hong Kong Orthopedic doctors can also prescribe ophthalmic drugs If you go to the pharmacy to buy medicine, you'd better choose to go during working hours and ask to see the resident pharmacist at the same time According to the law, pharmacies must put the pharmacist's practice certificate in an obvious position, so as to determine who is the pharmacist, and the pharmacist will not take the risk of being revoked to sell illegal drugs Liu Hanhao, a pharmacist at Luoke yiyicheng pharmacy in Wanchai, reminded that strictly speaking, most anticancer drugs need doctors' prescriptions to be sold Consumers should be wary of Indian by-products, and do not buy fake drugs at a low price In addition, most pharmacies do not have such drugs in stock and need to order them If the drugstore says it has stock, be extra careful.