NHSO to expand drug list as a New Year gift
Dr Sakchai Kanjanawatana, secretary-general of the National Health Security Office (NHSO) said this week that the NHSO board has agreed to extend coverage under National Health Security Act B.E. 2545 to include additional medicines and treatments.
“NHSO aims to make it a 2020 New Year gift for Thai people to gain access to necessary medicines and treatments that enable them to have a happy, healthy life,” he said.
Sakchai explained that the NHSO will add Octreotide acetate, an expensive drug used to treat Acromegaly, a disorder caused by excess production of the growth hormone, and Rituximab which is used to treat Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL), the most common lymphoma found in Thailand, to the list of medicines to be provided by NHSO. “Moreover, we will add more medical services for patients diagnosed with rare diseases that will cover the diagnosis, treatment, and transport costs to and from the hospitals."
“Prevention of disease prevention is among the top priorities, therefore starting in 2020 we will provide free Rotavirus vaccine to infants aged 2-6 months, free fluoride coating and dental sealant treatment for children aged 4-12 and 6-12 years respectively, and free HPV DNA test to ensure early diagnosis of cervical cancer, a new method that helps reduce mortality rate among cancer patients considerably,” he added.
NHSO will also provide Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis or PrEP medicines to 2,000 persons at risk groups of exposure to HIV, as well as work with Department of Disease Control in screening tuberculosis patients in prisons nationwide in accordance with the government’s plan to stop the spread of TB.