Bangkok (VNA) – The pilot project offering medical care at hospitals anywhere in Bangkok for 30 baht (0.85 USD) will have to be postponed, pending formation of the new cabinet, Acting Public Health Minister of Thailand Somsak Thepsutin said on August 21.
The project is part of Thailand's universal health coverage scheme (UHCS), also known as the gold card, launched in 2002.
Normally, Thai people are required to visit hospitals they have registered with under the UHCS before they can transfer to other hospitals for specialised treatment.
This red tape causes inconvenience and dissuades many patients from seeking healthcare and medical services, especially if they live far from their registered hospitals or outside their home provinces.
The pilot scheme aims to reform the national health security system by syncing and sharing health data across multiple hospitals and clinics. It will allow UHCS beneficiaries to obtain medical and healthcare services from any place registered under the scheme.
To access the service, they show their identification cards at designated health facilities.
The project has been expanded to 46 provinces and Bangkok was previously planned to join the programme from August 26, according to the Thai Ku Fah website.
However, Somsak on August 21 told media that the project has been postponed indefinitely pending the new cabinet being formed and declaring its policies to parliament.
He said the postponement is not due to various offices' lack of preparedness. He affirmed the ministry has finalised the groundwork for the project beforehand and worked on it on a trial basis.
He stressed that despite the postponement, the government will push forward the project and see it through.
Meanwhile, Somchai Krajangsaeng, a member of the Thailand Consumer Council's health service sub-committee, said hospitals participating in the project must meet certain requirements before they can accept patients, for examples, they must display the project logo.
Meetings have been held to finalise financial arrangements for participating hospitals to ensure they have sufficient funds to sustain the programme in Bangkok./.
