Prices of high-value medical consumables to be controlled

The State Council has released a circular on managing high-value medical consumables, aimed at regulating healthcare services and preventing unreasonable increases in medical expenses.

High-value medical consumables are directly used for human bodies, such as prosthetics, in great demand clinically and priced relatively high, which have strict requirements for safety and can pose heavy burdens on patients.

Ministries and departments, including the National Health Commission, the National Healthcare Security Administration, and the Ministry of Finance, are asked to improve the pricing mechanism and reduce unreasonably high prices of medical consumables, according to the circular.

For high-value medical consumables, the standard management should be strengthened, rules for Unique Device Identification be formulated, and classification and codes in the national medical insurance system be unified.

A platform for the price-monitoring and centralized purchasing of high-value medical consumables should be established and connected with the audit platform for medical insurance payment, the circular said, adding that the mechanism for including high-value medical consumables in basic medical insurance should be built as well.

The circular also required related departments to regulate medical services and strictly control any unreasonable use of high-value medical consumables through strengthening the management of clinical use, building a corresponding credit system, and improving medical institutes’ self-management regarding high-value medical consumables.

In addition, the supervision and management system should be improved, with strict investigation and punishment of violations and irregularities.

Supporting policies for increasing financial input, adjusting prices of medical services, reforming the medical insurance payment and updating the compensation system in medical institutes should all become part of the development of the medical industry.