Health Authority's new e-claim system checks out

The digitised process "makes hospital visits quicker and easier".

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ABU DHABI // The new electronic health insurance claim system, aimed at cutting down on time-consuming paperwork, has proved to be a success after its official launch last month. The system was set up under new legislation, introduced this year by the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD), which stipulated that all claims to Thiqa - the insurance scheme set up for nationals - for medical services on or after Sept 15 must be submitted electronically.

The system passed its first test smoothly on Oct 9, with Daman processing and paying out for an electronic claim submitted by Oasis Hospital. "The new e-claims process makes hospital visits quicker and easier for patients," said Dr Arnold Jacobs, medical director at Oasis Hospital. "It also allows us doctors to focus more on caring for our patients rather than filling out forms. I hope that everyone will be using e-claims soon."

Digitising the payments should make insurance information easier to process and make tracking changes in health trends much easier, enabling HAAD to react to situations more quickly and with more information. "E-claims will reduce the administrative paper burden, speed up payments and increase transparency," said Dr Philipp Vetter, head of strategy at HAAD. Eventually the entire health system in Abu Dhabi will operate under this system, but at the moment it is restricted to hospital claims made under the Thiqa plan.

"We are honoured to be the first hospital to employ the new electronic system, and are glad to see it operational after months of planning," said David Printy, chief executive of Oasis Hospital. "We hope it will be applied across all hospitals. Electronic claims will facilitate insurance procedures for both patients and ourselves and replace paper with the latest technology." Daman, the national insurance company in Abu Dhabi, hopes to be able to extend the programme to all of its services by January.

"Fully implementing HAAD's regulations will take health care in the emirate firmly into the future, and we are pleased to adopt such a progressive scheme so early," said Dr Michael Bitzer, chief executive of Daman. amcmeans@thenational.ae