To get sick in our country is quite an expensive pleasure. We think that none of the Russians who once ended up in modern hospitals will argue with this statement. It is also good if you caught only a commonplace cold, in which case you will have to spend only a couple of thousand rubles. But in the case when a person is crippled by a serious illness, the treatment can cost several hundred thousand rubles a month. Spending such amounts is beyond the power of most Russians. That is why the state has developed a special program of support for the population, which includes a list of preferential medicines that can be obtained absolutely free. Unfortunately, local therapists do not always inform their patients about the opportunity to purchase medicines in special pharmacies with a free prescription. Therefore, today we will try to figure out who is entitled to preferential medicines and how to get the cherished prescription from the doctor.
All About Benefits
In our country, the system for providing preferential medicines has been successfully operating for more than ten years. According to the law, the entire population is divided into several categories, from which privileges stand out. Depending on this classification, the drugs that will be available to the patient are determined. It should be borne in mind that if you clearly fall into the category of socially unprotected people, then no one can refuse you preferential medicines. Clinics often refer to insufficient funding from the federal budget, but this is not possible. The state, first of all, allocates money for its program of supporting the population, therefore, receiving preferential medicines is in no way connected with the hospital to which you are assigned.
There are two reasons for getting free medicine. The first group includes various groups of the population that are marked by the state as socially unprotected. The second reason may be a disease that is included in the list of eligible medicines to be provided. However, it is not always that a patient suffering from a rare disease may receive the necessary treatment for free. The fact is that, in addition to the categories of the population entitled to it, the state has also determined the list of preferential medicines. Therefore, if you need expensive treatment that is not provided for in this list, then prepare yourself to seek financial resources for the purchase of medicines. All these nuances will be discussed in more detail below.
Categories of the population eligible for free treatment
The list of preferential medicines and the list of citizens who can receive them are edited annually. The state is expanding it, thereby free treatment is becoming available to a larger number of people than before. According to the latest data, more than twenty million Russians already belong to this category in one way or another. At the same time, some of them get the opportunity to fully finance treatment from the state budget, and some - only in part.
It should be borne in mind that citizens themselves choose for themselves the option of cost recovery. The state has provided an option for monetary compensation, to which more than seventy-five percent of beneficiaries agree. And only one quarter fully utilizes its right to preferential medicines.
A socially unprotected group of the population that is entitled to receive free medicines can be divided into several categories:
- Children. These include babies under the age of three, and children from large families.Also in this category are children from low-income families under the age of six.
- Disabled people. The list of preferential medicines for the disabled is quite wide, but it is available only to those who received the first and second groups. At the same time, this category includes children with disabilities and citizens who have received disabilities during the Second World War.
- The participants in the hostilities. First of all, WWII veterans fall into this category, as well as persons directly involved in hostilities in hot spots.
- The liquidators of the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant.
- Other groups of persons.
The latter category may include various representatives of the population at the discretion of the regional authorities. They have the right to increase this list based on their own financial capabilities. Therefore, the list of citizens who are entitled to preferential medicines in St. Petersburg may differ significantly from a similar list in Sakhalin, for example.
We advise patients to be sure to ask their doctor about this list. Perhaps in your area you also have the opportunity to receive some kind of medicine for free.
List of diseases
The state has provided for a number of diseases, medicines for the treatment of which will be allocated as benefits. They can be lifelong and then we are talking about drugs that literally allow a person to continue a normal existence for a long time. Some diseases are curable and therefore benefits are assigned to the patient for a while.
The main diseases include any cases of oncology, AIDS, syphilis and cerebral palsy. Also included in this list are tuberculosis, diabetes and schizophrenia. The main list includes approximately fourteen diseases, there is also an additional list, which is constantly expanding.
This is due to the fact that the country's population needs more medicines every year. However, not everyone can afford high-quality treatment, so the growth of some diseases has been noted. To cope with them, the state finances the receipt of preferential medicines by citizens. And this program is very popular among the population.
List of preferential medicines: a brief description
Doctors know that this list includes more than six hundred drugs. It is believed that almost any disease can be cured with preferential drugs from the federal list. This is taken into account at its annual adjustment. The state, regardless of how well formed the budget, is trying to expand the number of drugs. In extreme cases, their number remains at the same level, which, however, happens quite rarely.
We will not list all preferential medicines in this section, however, we clarify that they are divided into eighteen types. Among them, analgesics, psycholeptics, antihistamines and antitumor drugs can be distinguished. The list also necessarily includes funds for the treatment of cardiovascular problems, kidneys and intestines. An extensive group consists of ophthalmic and antiepileptic drugs.
The necessary free preferential medicines will be found on this list also for patients suffering from problems with the thyroid gland, diabetes and asthma. If you are diagnosed with poor blood coagulation, then for this case, the list includes drugs.
A full list of preferential medicines for the disabled and other population groups can be found at the reception at the local therapist. Also, it is always available from the staff of your health insurance company.
Preferential recipes
You can get free medicine only with a special prescription. It is prescribed directly by the attending physician and several seals are placed on it. The last certification of the recipe is done by the head of the department.
Note that you need to get medicines within a month.The recipe is valid only for the specified time period. If for some reason you were unable to purchase medication, you will have to contact the therapist for a new form. However, keep in mind that doctors are very reluctant to prescribe repeated prescriptions in such cases.
Sometimes the necessary preferential medicines are not available in pharmacies. In such a situation, pharmacists make a note on the form and the prescription is extended. However, the pharmacy network is obliged to order the missing drug and arrange for its delivery within ten days. It is established by federal law.
If the patient himself cannot come for the drug, then any other person can do this. The main thing is that he has a recipe on his hands. No other documents will be requested when issuing the medicine.
In cases where treatment needs to be extended, the therapist will prescribe a second prescription. This will happen as long as the patient needs free medication.
Where to get preferential medicines?
If you have never received free medicines, you probably do not know that they are not given in every pharmacy. Preferential medicines are issued only in social state pharmacy networks. There are such in every city of our country, however, not in all settlements there are several of them. In small cities, there is usually one pharmacy with preferential medicines. In St. Petersburg, for example, there are more than a dozen of them, due to the size of the city.
In order to find out which pharmacy you can get your medicine for, just call the information service phone number. Here you will be called places in the city where you can go for the right drug. This saves patients from having to go around all the pharmacies in the city.
Keep in mind that the absence of certain medications is not a reason to refuse to issue them. After the order is made and the medicine is received, pharmacists are obliged to notify the patient by phone call about the possibility of its acquisition.
Free medicine: step-by-step instructions for obtaining
Do not hope that the local therapist on his own initiative will offer you to write out a prescription for the necessary medicines. Therefore, take care of this yourself. If you fall into the category of beneficiaries, then you will have to go through several more steps before you have the coveted form in your hands, which entitles you to free medicine.
Initially, contact your doctor with all the necessary documents. This package of papers should include identification documents, a medical insurance certificate and papers confirming the right to a benefit. Confirmation that you are not receiving monetary compensation is also required.
The second stage will be the passage of a special medical commission. We immediately specify that it is not always appointed, but in some cases you can not do without it.
Be sure to make sure that the diagnosis is recorded on your medical card and all narrow specialists are passed. After all, only with reference to their conclusion is a decision made on the need for certain preferential drugs.
If all the documents are drawn up correctly, the attending physician will write you a prescription. Do not be too lazy to check that it has been signed by all specialists and certified by the seal of the head physician or department head.
At the next stage, check the list of social pharmacies in the clinic and contact any one located closer to your home.
Keep in mind that in the absence of the right drug in the city, you can be offered its analogue. Only the patient decides whether to agree to this option or to wait for the appearance of the medicine indicated in the prescription.
Children: the principle of receiving preferential drugs
If your baby is not yet three years old or falls into another category of beneficiaries, then make sure to put him in the clinic for special registration.
To do this, you must provide the doctor with the simplest package of documents:
- birth certificate;
- passport of legal representative;
- medical insurance;
- certificate of residence.
If the child is disabled, then you will also need an extract from his medical record.
All of these documents are transferred to the doctor, who puts your child on the list of beneficiaries. Now, in case of a baby’s illness, you have the right to require a pediatrician to write you a free prescription.
Note that children's doctors do not like to do this. However, such behavior is outside the law, so parents who are familiar with federal law always receive preferential drugs on demand.
Alien city: is it possible to achieve a preferential recipe
There are different situations in life, so we can assume that preferential medicines end at the most inopportune moment. In this case, the patient may be in another city for personal or official business. What to do in this situation? Is it possible to write a prescription for the right drug in a foreign clinic?
Many people think that this is impossible. However, there are no real obstacles to getting preferential pills in a foreign city. It’s best, of course, to inform your doctor before the trip that you will need a new prescription when you are absent. In some cases, he may contact the hospital of the city where you will be and inform specialists about the situation. Then the problem will be solved by itself, but if this did not happen, then you should not worry either.
Feel free to contact any clinic and provide the therapist with the package of documents that we described earlier. Medical workers cannot refuse you a prescription. Otherwise, file a complaint with the head physician or any other higher authority.
Benefits for pregnant women: in what cases are provided
Few of our fellow citizens have an idea that women expecting a child also belong to the preferential category. A gynecologist who monitors the health of a pregnant woman can prescribe her free drugs that will improve her condition.
This usually occurs in the following cases:
- when a woman initially has a very low body mass index, practically unchanged from month to month;
- if the monthly increase is less than nine hundred grams;
- in situations of weight loss of one to two kilograms per month.
As part of the birth certificate, such pregnant patients can receive drugs in an amount up to thirty-five percent of it.
All drugs are collected in a special list, and women can purchase very expensive medicines that are not included in it on preferential terms with a fifty percent discount.
More often than not, pregnant women do not need to take special actions to get preferential medicines. A woman should be registered at the maternity welfare clinic on time and visit her doctor on time, taking tests and following all the instructions. A gynecologist who monitors her condition can write a preferential prescription for different groups of drugs that will be useful to the pregnant woman and the unborn baby in order to improve their well-being.
Categories of free medicines for pregnant women
The list of preferential preparations for women awaiting replenishment in the family is not too wide. It mainly includes vitamins and drugs used as an additional source of nutrition. Medicines can be collected in the following groups:
- folic acid sources;
- oily solution of vitamin E of various concentrations;
- iron preparations;
- multivitamin complexes;
- tablets containing iron and folic acid;
- potassium iodide.
Each group includes several different drugs, of which the doctor will definitely pick up something for the patient.