Hepatitis B is a deadly disease with a high prevalence rate in the Philippines. Studies show that in the Philippines there is a hepatitis B carrier rate of 9%. This means that for every 10 Filipinos, at least one is a carrier of hepatitis B. It is estimated that more than 7.7 million people are chronically infected with hepatitis B, of which between 1.1 and 1.9 million are expected to die prematurely from cirrhosis or liver cancer. This causes a chronic hepatitis B infectious diseases more difficult to handle.
There are several reasons for the high burden of hepatitis B in the country. The two main reasons are lack of knowledge of the disease, together with the inability to afford the costly treatment.
The pharmaceutical company Roche sets to help solve the problem. In line with guidance from the government to facilitate access to medicines, Roche has recently launched the Plan Pegassist easy access for patients with hepatitis B.
Through the Pegassist Easy Access Plan, patients with hepatitis B can have access to the peg-interferon alfa-2a hepatitis treatment medication with discounts up to as much as 50%. "The Pegassist Easy Access Plan socializes the medication discount system. This means, patients who truly cannot afford the medication will get a higher discount accordingly," said Dr. Dennis Dioko, Roche specialty business unit director.
"For patients who are interested to see if they can qualify for discounts through the Pegassist Easy Access Plan, there are several ways to find out. First, if they are seeing a gastroenterologist, their doctor can refer them to the Hepatitis Hotline (718-7620). If they are not currently seeing a doctor, they can call the hotline directly and the hotline can refer them to a gastroenterologist nearest to them for consultation."
According to Dr. Dioko, "After hepatitis B patients call the hotline – manned by the Hepatitis Hotline nurse – and have already been prescribed Peg interferon alfa-2a by their doctors, they will be referred to a financial assessment agency. The financial assessment agency will then conduct an evaluation of the patient to determine the discount rate applicable to the patient. Once the financial assessment has been completed, the agency will decide how much of a discount the patient is eligible to receive. Patients can receive as much as 50% off of the medication."
Hepatitis Nurse Hotline then inform patients of their qualified discount rate. At this point, the nurse will also explain to the patient the details of how you can buy your medicines at the discount rate through the distributor's official plan.
"In addition to providing discounts on the medication, hepatitis B patients will also be provided with free selected hepatitis B laboratory tests that would have otherwise been very expensive. Tests such as HBV DNA Testing and S-quantification are samples of laboratory tests patients can have access to through the Pegassist Easy Access Plan. The hotline can guide them accordingly on how to avail of these discounted labs," added Dr. Dioko.
The program expects to be able to make treatment and care available to a wider range of patients with hepatitis B and give them the opportunity to get the medication they need. In addition to discounted drugs and laboratory tests at a discount, the line also offers a nursing program that will continue the monitoring of patients throughout the course of treatment. And for patients who wish to pay by credit card, you can choose to pay by installments to make payments even easier on their budgets.
