Prescription of Narcotic Drugs for Pain Relief for Cancer/AIDS Patients

To be specific, according to Clause 2, Article 1 of Circular 18/2018/TT-BYT amending and supplementing Article 8 of Circular 52/2017/TT-BYT, the regulations on prescribing narcotic drugs to relieve pain for cancer patients or AIDS patients are as follows:

- Medical examination and treatment establishments, upon confirming the diagnosis of cancer patients or AIDS patients, shall create an Outpatient Treatment Medical Record for the patient.

The prescriber shall guide the patient or the patient's representative to write a commitment regarding the use of narcotic drugs as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 7 of Circular 52/2017/TT-BYT. Each prescription shall not exceed 30 days, and must concurrently record 03 prescriptions for 03 consecutive treatment periods, with each prescription not exceeding 10 days (clearly stating the start and end date of the treatment period).

- In the case of prescribing narcotic drugs to relieve pain for end-stage cancer patients or AIDS patients who are bedridden at home and unable to visit a medical examination and treatment establishment:- The patient must have a Confirmation Letter from the Head of the commune-level health station such as the ward or commune where the patient resides, confirming that the patient needs to continue pain relief treatment with narcotic drugs according to the form specified in Appendix VI issued with Circular 52/2017/TT-BYT (the confirmation is valid for one prescription), accompanied by a summary of the medical record;- The medical record summary shall be done according to the form specified in Appendix 6 of Circular 14/2016/TT-BYT.

In cases where the last medical examination and treatment establishment prescribes narcotic drugs for the patient, the medical record summary is not required.

Prescriptions for narcotic drugs must be made by a doctor at a medical examination and treatment establishment with inpatient treatment beds, with the maximum quantity of drugs prescribed each time not exceeding 10 days of use.

See more details at: Circular 18/2018/TT-BYT effective from October 10, 2018.

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