All healthcare schemes need to be equalised: experts
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The National Health Security Office (NHSO) needs to urgently address two major issues - making the three national healthcare programmes equal and improving primary care - if the Kingdom is serious about pushing its healthcare coverage to the next level an
These recommendations were made at the National Academic Conference called “Universal Healthcare Coverage for the Second Decade” with more than 1,000 participants including medical workers, health advocacy groups and patient networks. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra chaired the conference.
Dr Pongpisuth Jongudomsak, director of the Health System Research Institute (HSRI), said the merging of three state healthcare schemes, namely the universal coverage system, social security and civil servants medical benefits scheme, were the biggest concern for healthcare workers and patients.
“They agree that the management of the national healthcare schemes need to be merged, but not now as they are not ready,” he said, adding that the participants believed that improving primary care units, especially those in remote areas, needed more immediate attention.
He said people in the healthcare field also wanted the government to end the conflict between the Public Health Ministry and NHSO over the management of primary care units.
“Sometimes workers at primary care units, who come under the Public Health Ministry, have to provide services under the NHSO’s universal health coverage as well as do the jobs assigned to them by the ministry,” he said.
Pongpisuth added that local authorities wanted the NHSO to give them an opportunity to participate in local healthfund management even if the fund is initiated and supported by the NHSO.
“Decentralisation of healthcare services is needed to improve the quality of benefits for the next 10 years,” he said, adding that more hospitals should be established in rural areas.
In addition, employers need to cover occupational healthcare benefits for their employees.
Meanwhile, Yingluck said that from April 1, the government would start providing unlimited emergency medical services to all patients, regardless of the healthcare scheme they subscribe to.
After that, the government will work to improve healthcare benefits for children and elderly people because Thailand is fast becoming an ageing society.
Yingluck said the government would also improve health promotion and prevention programmes to help people become healthier. Local authorities will be a key player in this job.
The government will use information technology to provide “telemedicine” to people living in remote areas.
“This will be the government’s direction to improve medical services for next 10 years,” she said.
