TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Family and friends of COVID patients can receive a prescription and obtain antiviral medication on their behalf starting on Friday (May 13).
During a press conference on Thursday afternoon (May 12), Philip Lo (羅一鈞), deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division, said that in order to ensure timely treatment for COVID patients with severe risk factors, relatives and friends of confirmed cases can begin to obtain prescriptions and medication on their behalf on Friday.
Lo explained that those who meet the conditions for taking oral COVID medications can have their relatives or friends who are not in home isolation take the National Health Insurance (NHI) card of the patient and present a certificate of diagnosis to doctors at 124 hospitals that have epidemic prevention clinics and obtain Pfizer's Paxlovid antiviral drug on their behalf.
According to Lo, after the doctor determines the patient meets the required medical conditions and is suitable to take the medication, their friend or relative will sign a treatment consent form. The physician will issue a prescription and their proxy will then pick up the medication from the pharmacy.
He reminded the public that before going to the hospital, first check the registration and consultation methods of the hospital's epidemic prevention clinic in advance and follow these procedures.
Lo added that taking into account the digital divide among seniors, regulations on providing oral antiviral drugs for COVID have been revised to allow doctors to consult with home care patients via phone call. In the case of elderly patients, phone calls can be used to replace or assist video evaluations and consultations, enabling the medical team to deal with various situations in a timely manner, said Lo.
The CECC official then reminded diagnosed patients to use medication in accordance with the doctor's instructions and complete a full course of treatment. Patients are not to increase or decrease the prescribed dose in any way, so as not to impact the efficacy of the drug treatment.
In order to ensure the effective use of medical resources, if patients experience serious discomfort after taking the medication, they are urged to immediately contact the home care team or consult with the medical institution that issued the prescription.
