Impact of the zero-markup drug policy on volume of medical service:based on 57 county hospitals of China

In the present study,we aimed to assess the long-term impact of zero-markup drug policy on volume of medical service in county hospitals of China.This study used 57 county hospitals’records of medical service from 2011 to 2015,and a fixed effect model was applied to examine the impact of the zero-markup drug policy on volume of medical service.The outcome indicators included the number of patient visits,the number of prescriptions,the number of discharged patients,the length of stay,the number of patients who had surgeries and the number of patients who had CT or MRI,monthly.The number of hospitals which implemented the zero-markup drug policy was increased continuously.By the end of 2015,41 hospitals(71.9%)implemented this policy.The panel regression showed that most indicators were insignificantly decreased,including the number of patient visits(P<0.01),the length of stay(P<0.05),the number of patients who had surgeries(P<0.01)and the number of patients who had CT or MRI(P<0.01).However,the number of prescriptions and the number of discharged patients were not significantly changed.The implementation of the zero-markup drug policy might affect the reduction of the volume of medical service in county-level hospitals and the reason needs to be clarified in future studies.

The Strict Swedish vs. the Loose Dutch System for Regulations on Prostitution and Drug Use

The author＇s research topics include economic and legal questions concerning prostitution and drug use. There are two extreme models in these two areas, one represented by Sweden and the other by the Netherlands. Sweden votes for the model of a ＂prostitution and drug free society＂, while the latter represents a looser, more liberal view. This presentation aims to answer the question whether the statistics support the presumptions of either model. To shed light on these issues, facts and figures published by the Swedish and Dutch statistics offices as well as other studies on the subject were analyzed. During the course of the past few decades. the income from the prostitution and drug markets in Sweden was virtually unchanged. This may be considered as a failure： prostitution and drug use could not be decreased further. It may also be considered as an achievement： while these two markets were growing in many countries, at least in the case of Sweden the situation did not become worse. It seems that the liberal regulation of drugs and prostitution in the Netherlands has not been a successful venture. It is no wonder that there are plans for changes and limitations to the prostitution sector with new regulations, although complete prohibition has not been raised as an issue. The consumption of drugs has been increasing. In this respect, alongside the liberal stance on the issue, increasing emphasis is placed on deterrence from light drugs.

常州市各级医院带量采购政策实施效果差异研究

目的评价第二批国家集中带量采购(以下简称“集采”)政策在常州市不同等级医院的实施效果。方法基于双组间断时间序列模型和描述性统计,依托江苏省常州市医疗机构药品采购数据,分析第二批国家集采政策实施对江苏省常州市二级及以上医院和基层医疗卫生机构用药影响差异。结果第二批国家集采政策实施后,常州市二级及以上医院和基层医疗卫生机构集采品种均呈现不同程度药品使用频度(defined drug dose numbers,DDDs)上升、采购金额下降和药品日均费用(defined daily dose cost,DDDc)下降的现象,其中对于基层医疗卫生机构集采中选品种使用增长效果更明显,在具体药物种类上,心血管系统类、消化系统类药物受政策影响更明显。结论政府应该根据不同医院的用药特点制定更为灵活、有针对性的集采品种使用考核标准,并将考核细化到不同种类药品的使用情况。此外,政府相关部门应持续性检测各级医院的合理用药情况,并通过奖惩制度提高医疗机构使用集采品种的积极性。