Chronic Disease Co-care Pilot Scheme expands drug list and to implement annual consultation co-payment adjustments

     The Health Bureau announced today (August 9) that the Chronic Disease Co-care Pilot Scheme (CDCC Pilot Scheme), set for early identification of persons at risk of having diabetes mellitus (DM) and hypertension (HT), has expanded the coverage of its basic-tier drug list to 59 drug items this month. The expansion provides participating family doctors with more drug options to cater for the different clinical prescription needs of participants. In addition, according to the established mechanism, family doctors can adjust their consultation co-payment charge in the treatment phase on an annual basis. The consultation co-payment fees set by individual family doctors after this year's adjustment exercise will take effect from September 1.
 
     The basic-tier drug list of the CDCC Pilot Scheme covers basic drugs for treating chronic diseases (such as anti-hypertensive drugs, supplementary drugs to anti-hypertensive, lipid-regulating and anti-diabetic drugs) and episodic illnesses (such as antibiotics and drugs for treating associated health problems). Under government subsidy, participants prescribed with drugs on the list will not be required to pay for such medication. The Government reviews the basic-tier drug list from time to time to better meet the clinical needs of participants. Having reviewed the actual needs of participants, the Government included 16 additional drug items in the basic-tier drug list this month, covering anti-hypertensive drugs, lipid-regulating drugs, antibiotics and drugs for treating associated health problems. The expanded drug list now covers 59 basic-tier drug items as compared to 43 items at the initial stage of the Scheme, providing family doctors with greater flexibility in prescribing drugs according to the clinical needs of participants. The latest basic-tier drug list is set out in the Annex.
 
     The Government provides partial subsidy under the co-payment model of the CDCC Pilot Scheme. Bearing the primary responsibility for their own health, participants pay a certain amount of co-payment fee as well. Currently, family doctors are allowed to determine the consultation co-payment fees in the treatment phase on their own and have the fees adjusted once annually according to the established mechanism. The consultation co-payment adjustments for this year's exercise will take effect from September 1. The updated list of consultation co-payment fees has been uploaded to the dedicated website of the Scheme for public reference. Relevant information on the webpage for searching family doctors will be updated on September 1.
 
     Among the 718 participating service points, 672 of them (i.e. nearly 94 per cent) will keep their existing consultation co-payment fees in the treatment phase unchanged. Eight other service points will reduce the consultation co-payment fees with reductions ranging from $50 to $350, while the remaining 38 service points will raise their co-payment fees with increases ranging from $20 to $250. Overall, two-thirds of the service points (473 service points) under the Scheme will only charge at a level equivalent to or below the Government-recommended consultation co-payment fee (viz. $150 or below) from September 1.
 
     Launched in last November, the three-year CDCC Pilot Scheme is one of the key initiatives under the Primary Healthcare Blueprint. Citizens aged 45 or above with no known medical history of DM or HT will be subsidised to pair with a family doctor of their choice for DM and HT screening and long-term follow-up. Participants diagnosed with prediabetes are entitled to a maximum of four subsidised consultation visits per year, while those diagnosed with DM or HT are entitled to a maximum of six subsidised consultation visits per year. The Pilot Scheme has been well received by the public since its launch. As of August 7, around 56 000 citizens have joined the Scheme. Among 32 000-plus participants who have completed the DM and HT screening, about 13 000 (i.e. around 40 per cent) have been diagnosed with prediabetes, DM or HT. The Pilot Scheme has adopted a systematic approach to put the "Family Doctor For All" concept into practice and foster the development of District Health Centres into a healthcare resource hub for the community to solidify the district healthcare network, thus achieving the objective of "early prevention, early detection and early treatment" for improving the well-being of the public.
 
     For more details of the CDCC Pilot Scheme, members of the public may visit its dedicated website or call the hotline at 2157 0500. Dedicated staff of the hotline will answer calls from 9am to 9pm from Mondays to Saturdays.