NHSO plans digital transformation, enhanced universal healthcare

Thailand’s National Health Security Office (NHSO) is set to improve its services in alignment with the new government‘s policy, according to the NHSO secretary-general, Jadet Thammathataree. The planned modifications pertain to the universal healthcare package, commonly referred to as the gold card scheme and the digital transformation of the NHSO system.

The NHSO has recently engaged in discussions with the newly appointed Public Health Minister, Cholnan Srikaew, to explore healthcare policies requiring the agency’s cooperation. The primary concentration of these policies is on universal healthcare and the digital transformation of the system.

The government is eager to make significant strides on the promises it made during its campaign, particularly in the health sector. The minister outlined policies concerning the enhancement of gold-card services, which cover three main areas: healthcare prevention, including the extension of free cervical cancer vaccinations to all girls aged 11 or older; mental health check-ups, which will now include services for transgender or LGBTQ+ individuals; and telemedicine services.

Cholnan has instructed the NHSO to collaborate with the Office of the Permanent Secretary to initiate pilot healthcare projects, which include free cancer vaccinations and palliative care. Jadet expressed optimism about the minister’s intentions.

“We believe the new minister’s intention to increase gold card benefits will provide more advantages for people.”

Additionally, there are plans to allow drugstores to operate 24 hours a day to minimise hospital visits. A patient booking system is also being considered to reduce waiting times in public hospitals.

When questioned about the potential increase in physicians’ workloads due to the new policies, Jadet assured that some digital transformations to healthcare, such as the integration of ID cards with the NHSO database, would help to decrease paperwork.

“The first step is to integrate all the information we have.”

This step is expected to streamline processes, thereby reducing the administrative load on healthcare professionals, reported Bangkok Post.