If a chronic illness is stable, a community hospital can prescribe up to 12 weeks of medicine at a time

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In plain words

If your condition is stable and your medicines haven't changed, a community health service center (社区卫生服务中心) can give you a full 12 weeks of medicine at a time. That saves the half day of traveling to a big hospital and queuing to register every month. Within the same place where you are insured, the reimbursement rate at a primary-level hospital is also usually about 10 percentage points higher than at the next level up.

Mentioned in

Go to the community clinic first for common illnesses and be referred up level by level; the hospital-stay deductible then carries over

Translated from the Chinese original. Original book, section 16, tip 5. This section is about health and medicines. It is general information, not a substitute for a doctor’s diagnosis or prescription. Content may be out of date and rules differ by place. When you actually deal with an agency, a doctor or a court, follow what local officials, doctors and lawyers tell you. Disclaimer