'OP Anywhere' improves healthcare access
 
Hospital staff and patients reported the positive impact of 'OP Anywhere ' or outpatient everywhere, a new public health policy encouraging people to access primary care at any available health unit.  
 
Ministry of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul, also chairman of the National Health Security board, announced the launch of OP Anywhere early this year, intending to improve people's access to primary care.  
 
Before the announcement, beneficiaries of the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) must request outpatient services from public hospitals they are registered with.
 
They couldn't access health services in other hospitals unless the hospital's staff approved and issued inter-hospital transfer papers for them. 
 
Under the new policy, UCS beneficiaries can request primary care services from any primary health unit, including public health centers, subdistrict health promotion hospitals, primary care units under hospitals, community health centers, and community clinics partnering with the NHSO.
 
The services cover preventive care, health promotion and disease prevention, physical rehabilitation, and primary care for any illness.
 
The patients will be transferred to higher-capacity hospitals if they need specialist or intensive care.   
 
OP Anywhere was piloted in a few hospitals last year and extended to the whole country early this year.
 
The extension followed the hospitals' reports of positive outcomes after the policy implementation. Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Hospital is one of those hospitals.
 


"Our core team had meetings to plan for our staff preparation. Communication with our staff and the general public is the key," said Dr Chakkri Sarikanon, the hospital's deputy director.
 
Based in Ayutthaya province north of Bangkok, the hospital staff communicated to the patients and the public via its website, social media, signs, and in-person dialogues with visitors.
 
The hospital staff needed to adapt to a new coding system for e-claiming the medical fees with NHSO.  
 
Once the UCS beneficiaries arrive at hospitals, their registration status will be reviewed by hospital staff.
 
Those who do not register with hospitals will receive special code “UQ”, which alerts the health team to provide free primary care services.  
 
Between Jan and Mar, 279 visitors received free health services even though they were not registered at the hospital. Their common symptoms were gastroenteritis, stomachache, and rash.
 
They visited the hospitals twice on average, which did not exhaust the hospital resources.
Most of them were domestic or seasonal migrants who temporarily worked in Ayutthaya.
 
"Their number is very small when compared to our 1,900 daily visitors, so their arrivals did not lead to hospital overcapacity," said Dr Chakkri.
 
"The policy is very beneficial and convenient, especially for patients needing immediate care and those with chronic diseases requiring undisrupted medical consultations."
 
Similarly, Wat Phraya Tikaram subdistrict health promotion hospital reported positive outcomes after adopting OP Anywhere policy.

 

The hospital's director Suntri Kansuwiroa said that the policy helped improve patients' access to care, especially those from low-income families.
 
Previously, they avoided visiting the hospital because they couldn't afford the medical fees.
 
"I moved from northeastern Thailand to Ayutthaya province. But my name is still registered at the hospital in my hometown.
 


The policy allows me to get health services from a local hospital here without traveling back to my home province," said a patient Supannee Deetachote.
 
"This policy is really good for a migrant like me. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to afford healthcare if I was sick. Now I'm not worried anymore."
 
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