Health Insurance Organisation (HIO) has taken over the management of specialised and innovative drug treatments from today, marking a significant change in how patients with serious chronic and rare conditions access their medications.
The HIO announced yesterday that it would now handle all named patient requests for specialised medications, which were previously processed through the Ministry of Health’s Named Patient Committee. The change implements a decision made nearly a year ago to transfer specialised treatments to the General Health System (GHS).
Requests must now be submitted electronically through the GHS computer system by GHS-contracted specialist doctors. For emergency cases, applications should continue to be submitted to the Ministry of Health until December 30, 2024, with the HIO’s Emergency Cases Committee taking over from January 1, 2025.
The new system will allow patients to access treatments not currently included in the GHS Pharmaceutical Products List, medications not covered for all indications under GHS, and drugs that don’t meet existing protocols. All treatments have been registered in the GHS software system with electronic forms available to doctors.
For emergency cases where a patient’s life is at immediate risk or there is danger of serious disability, requests must also be submitted via email to ensure swift response from the HIO.
The Ministry of Health’s committee will continue to operate only for named patient requests concerning non-GHS beneficiaries and unlicensed or unpriced medications.
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