Taiwan’s FDA pushes for self-medication to save on expenses

 08-Jan-15, Taipei Times

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday reiterated its determination to facilitate easy access to drugs to further promote responsible self-medication, which it said could save people time waiting in hospitals and clinics, and considerable National Health Insurance (NHI) spending.

Image: CommonWealth

“As of this month, the government has issued licenses for a total of more than 26,000 drugs, of which only 7,261 are non-prescription medications — which are required to be used under the guidance of either a physician or pharmacist — and 435 are over-the-counter drugs,” FDA division of medicinal products director Liu Li-ling (劉麗玲) told a press conference in Taipei yesterday morning.

Liu said that non-prescription drugs account for just 6 percent of the nation’s overall drug sales, compared with 20 percent in more developed countries.

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