Chinese patent medicines are the concentrated essence of traditional Chinese medicine culture. Compared with Chinese medicine decoctions, they do not need to be decocted and can be used directly. At the same time, they are small in size, easy to carry and store, especially convenient for patients with critical illnesses and patients who need long-term treatment. However, its prices are "ups and downs" and "very different". Recently, the National Medical Insurance Bureau guided the Hubei Provincial Medical Insurance Bureau to take the lead in carrying out the national alliance procurement of Chinese patent medicines, which will reduce the price of Chinese patent medicines, compress the price difference, and form a more transparent and benign competition market, so that the general public can benefit.

▍What is Chinese patent medicine?
Chinese patent medicine is a preparation with certain specifications and dosage forms that can be directly used for the prevention and treatment of diseases, made from Chinese medicinal materials under the guidance of traditional Chinese medicine theory, according to the prescribed prescriptions and standards. Chinese patent medicines are very common in our lives, such as Lianhua Qingwen Capsules, Xiao Chaihu Granules, Huoxiang Zhengqi Water, etc. When identifying, you can pay attention to the approval number on the drug packaging box, such as the national medicine standard Z20140045. The approval number contains the letter "Z", indicating that this medicine is a Chinese patent medicine. Chinese patent medicine has a long history and a wide range of applications. It has played an important role in disease prevention and treatment and protecting the health of the people.

▍Why are the prices of Chinese patent medicines so different?
In recent years, many people have reported that the prices of the same Chinese patent medicines vary greatly, and the prices of the same medicines vary by more than ten times or even dozens of times between different companies. So, what factors lead to the price differences of Chinese patent medicines? Is there any unreasonable price water in this?
First, the ingredients of Chinese patent medicines with the same name may be different. Chemical drugs with the same name require strict consistency of ingredients, but Chinese patent medicines are different. For example, Shengmaiyin oral liquid, which has the function of invigorating qi and nourishing yin, uses Codonopsis as raw material, and some use red ginseng formed after ginseng processing as raw material. Codonopsis, ginseng, and red ginseng are all ginsengs, and all have the function of invigorating qi. Judging from the price of medicinal pieces, the price of red ginseng is twice that of codonopsis, so the cost of Shengmai Yin made with red ginseng will be higher than that of Shengmai Yin made with codonopsis. However, the price of some Shengmai Yin containing red ginseng is 10 times that of codonopsis, which obviously has price water.
Second, the dosage forms of the same medicine are different. Some Chinese patent medicines have multiple dosage forms even for oral administration. For example, Duyiwei has capsules, soft capsules, and dripping pills. Generally speaking, the price of dripping pills and soft capsules is more expensive than ordinary capsules. However, some dripping pills of the same Chinese patent medicine are 6-7 times more expensive than ordinary capsules, which significantly exceeds the cost between different dosage forms, and the price difference exceeds the reasonable range.
Third, the quality standards of different companies may be different. Chinese patent medicines do not have clear quality and efficacy consistency evaluation standards like chemical drugs. Some companies strictly require their own products, and their quality standards are higher than other companies, and their product prices will also be higher.
In addition, there are also Chinese patent medicines with the same name, material selection, dosage form, and quality standards, but there are more than ten times or even dozens of times the price difference, indicating that there is obvious price water.

▍Promote price spread rationalization through centralized procurement
The national centralized volume procurement of traditional Chinese medicines led by Hubei Province, on the one hand, takes into account the current status of the traditional Chinese medicine industry, recognizes the initial price differences of similar medicines to a certain extent, and on the other hand, takes multiple measures to compress the price differences between similar medicines, squeezes out the inflated price water, and makes market competition more fair and just.
First, it draws a "starting line" to improve the fairness of the starting point. On the basis of recognizing the existing prices of each enterprise, adjust the benchmark price of each enterprise's products, and lower the high-priced drugs by a certain margin. The higher the price, the greater the compression, which improves the fairness of the starting line.
Second, it lays a "runway" to carry out competition based on price reduction. The products of each enterprise are reduced on the basis of their own adjusted benchmark prices. The enterprises with large price reductions will get higher scores. The price reduction scores are added to other technical scores such as medical institution recognition to obtain a comprehensive score. In the end, the enterprise with a high comprehensive score wins.
Third, a "finishing line" is set to rationalize the price spread. Even if a company's product wins the comprehensive scoring competition, its price must be compared with the lowest price of the product group with a larger usage. If the price difference exceeds 3 times, it needs to further reduce the price to be selected. The industry figuratively calls this 3-fold line the "fuse line". In the centralized procurement of chemical drugs, the "fuse line" is 1.8 times, and the centralized procurement of Chinese patent medicines adopts a 3-fold "fuse line". It is precisely because of the differences in Chinese patent medicine products of different companies due to different materials, dosage forms, and standards that the price difference may be greater.
Through the above approach, the centralized procurement of Chinese patent medicines is expected to better squeeze out the original inflated price water, help Chinese medicine return to the characteristics of "simple, convenient, cheap, and effective", and better play the role of Chinese patent medicine in maintaining the health of the people.

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