The NHIA passed the amendments of National Health Insurance Medical Payment Solutions for Schizophrenia (Schizophrenia Solutions) on March 10, 2022. These amendments include relaxing registration conditions, defining high-risk patients, increasing financial incentives and service items, and revising terms for payments. As for the amended Solutions, follow-up visits and home visits after a hospitalization were added, along with incentives for doctors in order to encourage active interventions for unstable high-risk patients and for patients who pay a visit irregularly, thus enhancing the continuity of care for schizophrenic patients. The amendments were implemented on May 1, 2022, expecting to benefit an additional 19,000 patients.
     Schizophrenia is a disorder that requires continuous treatment. To enhance the quality of medical care, schizophrenic patients have to be treated regularly in order to improve their daily life functions. Therefore, the NHIA has started the National Health Insurance Medical Payment Solutions for Schizophrenia since 2010. Up until 2021, a total of 146 medical institutions have participated the Solutions with approximately 60,000 participants and 60% of care rate.
      According to Dr. Po-Chang Lee, Director General of the NHIA, the purpose of the amendments for the Schizophrenia Solutions is to strengthen follow-up care for patients; therefore, the NHIA has included new confirmed patients od the current year to register the Solutions. Meanwhile, financial incentives were also added to encourage doctors to guide patients who do not regularly see a doctor and to actively intervene the treatment for patients and make home visits to lower the chance of condition worsening as a result of irregular treatment and further relieve the burdens of the patients' families, reducing social costs.