ReviewBMJ global health2021
Lowering drug prices and enhancing pharmaceutical affordability: an analysis of the national volume-based procurement (NVBP) effect in China.
Review in BMJ global health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 85 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
85 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Systematic review of the impact of the National Medication Price Negotiated Policy on the accessibility of drugs in China, 2016-2024.BMJ open · 2024Pooled it
- Clinical Benefit, Price, and Uptake for Cancer Biosimilars vs Reference Drugs in China: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JAMA network open · 2023Pooled it
- The price and affordability of essential medicines, progress and regional distribution in China: a systematic review.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2023Pooled it
- Comparative Effectiveness of Switching to Bictegravir From Dolutegravir-, Efavirenz-, or Raltegravir-Based Antiretroviral Therapy Among Individuals With HIV Who are Virologically Suppressed.Open forum infectious diseases · 2024Trial
- Analysis of hospital and payer costs of care: aggressive warming versus routine warming in abdominal major surgery.Frontiers in public health · 2023Trial
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- Drug price trends, regional disparities, and supply shortages under China's National Volume-Based Procurement: a nationwide analysis (2018-2024).BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Availability, prices and affordability of nationally negotiated antidiabetic medicines in China: a national survey.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Has volume-based procurement reduced household catastrophic health expenditure in rural patients with chronic disease?-Evidence from CHARLS 2018 and 2020 in China.Health economics review · 2026Article
- Hepatitis B in China: the analysis of mortality and burden of disease trends from 2008 to 2021.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Direct hospitalization costs of children withFrontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Traditional Chinese medicine reimbursement reform in China: implementation progress, policy constraints, and optimization strategies.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Reforming the white coat economy: judicial evidence and institutional implications from China's healthcare anti-corruption campaign.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Cross-jurisdictional access to innovative drugs and devices: a five-year policy and practice review of the Hong Kong and Macao medicine and equipment connect in the Greater Bay Area of China.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Impact of China's National Volume-Based Procurement Policy on the Affordability and Utilization of Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors for Childhood Leukemia.Health data science · 2026Article
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- Impacts of national volume-based procurement policy on insulin price, volume and expenditure in China: a quasi-experimental study.BMJ public health · 2026Article
25 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
To cope with the increasing healthcare costs brought about by the universal health insurance programme, national volume-based procurement (NVBP) was implemented in China to reduce drug prices. However, the impact of NVBP remains unknown. We reported the effects of the NVBP pilot programme on medication affordability and discussed the challenges and recommendations for further reforms. A total of 25 molecules won the bidding in the NVBP pilot programme, and price cuts ranged from 25% to 96%. Medication affordability was measured as the number of days' wages needed to pay for a course of treatment, and the medication was identified as affordable if the cost of a treatment course was less than the average daily wage. After the NVBP, the proportion of affordable drugs increased from 33% to 67%, and the mean affordability improved from 8.2 days' wages to 2.8 days' wages. Specifically, for rural residents, the proportion of affordable drugs increased from 13% to 58%, and the mean affordability improved from 15.7 days' wages to 5.3 days' wages. For urban residents, the proportion of affordable drugs increased from 54% to 71%, and the mean affordability improved from 5.9 days' wages to 2.0 days' wages. Implementing the NVBP substantially improved medication affordability. In future reforms, a multifaceted approach addressing all issues in the health system is needed to enhance medicine access.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.