Replies to LegCo questions

LCQ12:Dispensing practises in hospital clusters

Following is a question by the Hon Li Kwok-ying and a written reply by the Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food, Dr York Chow, in the Legislative Council today (May 24):

Question:

It has been reported that the hospitals in the New Territories East Cluster have recently implemented a new policy whereby only half of the normal amount is dispensed in the prescription of the medicines "to be taken if needed". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

(a) when the policy began to be implemented, and whether the organisations concerned have been consulted before its implementation;

(b) whether the hospitals in the New Territories East Cluster are currently implementing the policy, and whether the scope of the policy will be extended to other hospital clusters in the future; if so, of the implementation timetable; and

(c) the rationale for dispensing only half of the normal amount in the prescription of the medicines "to be taken if needed", and whether it has assessed the impact of the policy on the conditions of the patients taking such medicines?

Reply:

Madam President,

Generally speaking, medicines "to be taken when necessary" under prescription by medical practitioners refer to medicines that are not required to be taken at prescribed intervals. These medicines, which are meant to be taken by patients as and when necessary, are mainly used for providing relief to symptoms that may arise (e.g. diarrhoea, pain, dizziness, etc.).

Under existing policy, public hospitals do not have any rule stipulating the dispensation of half the quantity of medicines "to be taken when necessary" to patients. As a matter of fact, when prescribing this type of medicines the medical practitioners would determine the quantity to be dispensed having regard to the clinical condition of the patients, including the frequency of occurrence of the symptoms in question. The medical practitioners would discuss the prescription of medicines "to be taken when necessary" with patients, so as to ensure the appropriate use of these medicines and that the quantity to be dispensed would suit the patients' needs.

In the event that a patient is in need of an additional quantity of medicines "to be taken when necessary", he may approach the hospital or clinic he attended for assistance. The healthcare staff would seek advice from the patient's attending doctor and make appropriate arrangements, including the prescription of additional quantity of the medicines or, where necessary, an advancement of the date of the follow-up consultation.

Replies to the specific questions are set out below in seriatim -

(a) The New Territories East Cluster has adopted the practise of determining the quantity of medicines "to be taken when necessary" to be dispensed to patients on the basis of their clinical condition since April 17, 2002. This dispensing practise was considered and endorsed by the Cluster's Pharmaceutical Services Committee.

(b) Other hospital clusters have also adopted similar dispensing practises.

(c) By adopting the practise of determining the quantity of medicines "to be taken when necessary" to be dispensed to patients on the basis of their clinical condition, the main objectives are to reduce the waste of medicines and to avoid possible mishaps from the accumulation of unused medicines. This dispensing practise has been implemented for some time and proven to be effective. The Hospital Authority is not aware of any adverse effects of the practise on patients so far.


Ends/Wednesday, May 24, 2006
Issued at HKT 14:50

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