A book series about Thai UHC launched
 
The National Health Secuirty Office (NHSO) launched a book series collecting Thailand’s experience toward achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
 
The book launch event was held at the side of Prince Mahidol Award Conference at Bangkok’s Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Center on 28 January.
 
The event also aims for commemorating Dr. Sanguan Nitayarumphong, a visionary doctor who spearheaded Thai UHC and became the first NHSO secretary-general.
 

The NHSO secretary-general, Dr Jadej Thammathataree, and Prof Dr Goran Tomson, Co-Founder and Senior Adviser Swedish Institute for Global Health Transformation, Sweden were among the participants gathering at the event.
 

Dr Jadej said that one of the NHSO’s missions was to share knowledge and experience about UHC with the public and the international community, which is also part of Dr Sanguan’s vision.
 

“We’ve collected our experience and put it in English and in many forms, including printed and electronic books that everyone can access,” said Dr Jadej.
 
“We hope every country can move toward achieving UHC in its national context.”
 
The book series has five chapters: Thai UHC and overview; the role of people’s participation in universal coverage scheme, the adoption of customer rights protection, the NHSO’s operation in the COVID-19 crisis, and 10 frequently asked question about Thai UHC.
 
“UHC is the foundation of the health system that determines the country’s capacity to cope with the crisis. If you have UHC, you can adapt yourself and manage the crisis in appropriate ways,” said Dr Jadej.
 
During the event, Dr Tomson led the commemoration of Dr Sanguan and described him as “the man of vision” who had “a combination of health and heart.”


 
Dr Tomson collaborated with Dr Sanguan and Thai doctors in developing research that was used to back up the establishment of Thai UHC. One of those is the development of health technology assessment for social security in Thailand.
 
Dr Sanguan led doctors, researchers, civil society and patient groups to develop the financial model and benefits package for the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS), which currently provides access to affordable healthcare for 47 million Thais.
 
The UCS filled up the gap left by other healthcare schemes — Social Security Scheme which covers employees in the formal sector, and Civil Servants Medical Benefits Scheme which cover government officials and their family members.
 

These two schemes do not cover people in the informal sector, who account for nearly 70% of the Thai population when the UCS was introduced in 2002. 
 
To achieve UHC, Dr Sangaun led conversations with policymakers and politicians to convince them to support UCS.
 

His vision led to the establishment of the NHSO, acting as a representative of health purchasers to negotiate with health providers for multi-dimensional health services — from curative and preventive to palliative care, plus medicines and vaccines. 
 
“Sanguan was much earlier than WHO [World Health Organization] in developing UHC,” said Dr Tomson. “With Sanguan in the room, everything was possible.”
 
Download the book series about Thai UHC here: https://eng.nhso.go.th/view/1/Home/EN-US