The NHSO seeks partnerships with Bangkok private clinics  
 
The National Health Security Office (NHSO) pushes for building partnerships with private clinics to increase primary care entry points in Bangkok.
 
Named ‘Primary Care Model 5’, the partnerships aim to close the healthcare access gap in Thailand’s capital where the number and distribution of primary care units are limited.

If successful, it could be a model adopted by other cities facing a similar challenge.
 

Dr Wirat Eungpoonsawat, Director of the Region 13 (Bangkok) overseeing Bangkok, said that the involvement of private clinics in the health system is vital to increasing the availability of healthcare units.
 
There are 69 state-owned public health centers under Bangkok Metropolitan Authority (BMA) in Bangkok, which is not enough to provide primary care to more than 10 million population.
 
Around 200 private clinics are partnering with the NHSO and offering free health services to beneficiaries of the Universal Coverage Scheme (UCS) managed by the NHSO.
 
These clinics can claim medical fees from the NHSO after they provide services to patients. It’s estimated that at least 500 private clinics are needed to fill up the healthcare gap in Bangkok.
 
“To ensure healthcare access, state and private health units must join hands to provide primary care. We plan to recruit private clinics in all 50 districts of Bangkok so patients can access primary care at any entry point,” said Dr Wirat.
 
Currently, the NHSO is recruiting private clinics which can be those open during full or partial office hours. They must register legally with the Ministry of Public health. Their staff must have medical licenses.
 

The clinics can claim medical fees for more than 4,000 items. The transactions will be made every 15 days.
 
Dr Wirat said that the NHSO had improved its reimbursement system and hoped to speed up the claiming process, with transactions being made every three days.
 
 The NHSO targets to sign contracts with 30 to 50 private clinics by October 1, when UCS beneficiaries will be able to access primary care at any clinics regardless of their health units' registration.
 
In 2020, the NHSO received complaints allegation more than 100 private clinics overclaiming medical fees on intention.
 

The investigation found they falsy recorded the quantity of health services provided to UCS beneficiaries, intending to claim higher amounts of fees from the NHSO.

This led the NHSO to revoked their contracts and end partnerships with them.
 
Dr Wirat said that the contract termination is one of the reasons that the NHSO needed to seek new partnering clinics. 
 
He also invited private clinics to open for this partnership as it will benefit the health of people and the health system as a whole.