國防部軍醫局

To identify potential patients with hepatitis C and ensure early detection and early treatment, the National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) has been advocating for citizens aged 45 to 79 years (40 to 79 years for indigenous people) to take the hepatitis B and C screening tests. As per the government policy, citizens of said age group are each eligible to one free screening test. The NHIA is working with the Department of Health of each city and county, Taiwan Medical Association, and Taiwan Medical Clinics Association to set up a prevention and control network for hepatitis. Moreover, doctors are encouraged to treat hepatitis C and all medical facilities are prompted to collaborate. The network covers remote areas, significantly raising the screening rate and increasing medical accessibility  .

Patients with hepatitis C usually do not present obvious symptoms in the early stage. However, the viral infection may develop and lead to “hepatitis, cirrhosis, liver cancer”. Early screening and timely diagnosis allow doctors to identify the virus and the virus count. In this way, the doctors can prescribe treatments (for 2 to 3 months) with a new antiviral oral drug for hepatitis C virus (HCV) that can effectively eliminate the virus. The cure rate of said treatment is over 90% and patients who have undergone said treatment have significantly restored their health.

To improve the precision and capacity of screening and treating potential patients, the NHIA shall request health centers to refer all patients with positive HCV antibody test results on the list provided by the Health Promotion Administration and have all medical facilities to ensure patients taking hepatitis C treatments in their facilities to duly follow-through the treatment and all scheduled follow-up appointments. According to the statistics, a total of 148,031 patients in Taiwan have taken the new anti-HCV drug treatment between 2017 and 2022. To achieve the goal of eliminating hepatitis C by 2025, Taiwan has built a comprehensive safety net for hepatitis C through “overall screening tests”, “accessible treatments”, and “timely referrals”.

The NHIA added that, after taking the hepatitis C screening test provided by the adult preventative care services or other hepatitis C-related tests, patients can log into the NHI App on their phones and consult the results in the section of Other Test Results in My Health Bank. The NHI app assists the insured in staying on top of their health and seeking timely treatment.