Medical treatment rights are important for all of us to know and understand what rights we have because when we are sick, we will be able to use our rights correctly and we will know what we can claim and what we have to pay for ourselves.
In the previous episode, we looked at the work process that is like the last step before sending all patients home. It is also a popular place in this situation, the Physical Therapy Center, Thammasat University Hospital. We say that it is popular because during the time when everyone is unable to go to work as usual, working from home makes us unknowingly have office syndrome. Neck pain, shoulder pain, back pain, minor symptoms that can lead to unexpectedly serious symptoms if we do not change our behavior now.
Now, it’s about the right to medical treatment. We will get to know and study the necessary processes when wanting to receive treatment at a hospital. Things that need to be done before being able to receive treatment include checking the rights that can be used to receive treatment at the hospital. Of course, the person who can help us in this matter is the Medical Treatment Rights Coordination Unit, which today we will get to know from Mr. Vee Chitapankul, Head of Health Insurance, Thammasat University Hospital.
“The Healthcare Rights Coordination Unit is one of the first points that everyone has to face.”
When you come to receive medical treatment or have a health check, the Medical Treatment Rights Coordination Unit will be the first unit you have to go to. This unit is responsible for checking patient rights, including approving rights when patients come to the hospital. It will start from making history to checking patient appointments. When making history, the patient will be checked on what rights they can use. All rights will be checked and basic advice will be given for using each right.
“There is a wide variety of people who come to use the services here.”
The number of people receiving the service is quite diverse, whether they are government officials, gold cards, or social security from Thammasat University Hospital itself or from other places. However, if the patient uses the gold card from another hospital, the patient must submit a referral document from the hospital where the patient is eligible to check the treatment rights. Originally, everyone had the gold card already. If working in the employee system, the employer will provide social security or some companies will provide insurance for all employees. Most service recipients will have already thought about which type of rights they will use.
“Rights from companies other than social security”
Some companies will issue a letter to patients, which is for using rights outside of social security. The company will send a letter detailing how much the treatment fee is for each treatment and when the rights can be used. Most patients will receive the details of their rights from the company in advance. However, when they arrive at the medical treatment rights coordination unit, they will check the rights and inform the details again to confirm the correctness.
Services provided by the Healthcare Rights Coordination Unit
The service in this section will be divided into 2 parts to prevent chaos when service recipients walk past each other. When patients step into this section, there will be staff waiting to welcome them in front to introduce the service. There will be a queue card for new patients who need a new history for examination and treatment and patients who want to check their rights. The hospital will start providing services from 7.00 a.m. onwards. The service in both parts will be divided as follows:
- Part 1 is for new patient history. This group will have a queue number starting with the letter A. They must make an ID card, fill in information useful for initial treatment, and send the patient to the examination room for patients who do not have an appointment. After passing the initial screening, it is sent to the medical record so that the patient can receive services in other areas.
- Part 2 For existing patients who already have a history and want to check their rights or have an appointment, after checking their rights and submitting the appointment documents, the patient will be sent to the department where the appointment was made.
“For convenience, speed and accuracy, we need to use technology to help us work.”
The hospital now allows patients to check their rights in advance for convenience and to reduce the time spent receiving services through the hospital’s application, TUH for all or Thammasat University Hospital. Most staff will recommend that patients download this application because it is convenient and patients do not have to waste time waiting for their rights to be checked at the hospital because the number of people receiving services each day is very high. However, if you check your rights through the application and it appears that your rights have not been updated, you will have to press the queue card at the hospital to check why your rights have not been updated.
“During the COVID period, even though the number of patients has decreased, we have new and important work.”
During the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of patients receiving services decreased, which led to a decrease in the work in the original format. Instead, more work had to be done for COVID-19 patients. In normal situations, when patients wanted to check their eligibility, they would be able to ask easily because they were right in front of them, and it was easy to talk and check their eligibility. However, since the patients receiving services were COVID-19 infected, coordination was necessary over the phone instead, because the patients had to stay in field hospitals or undergo home isolation. Most of the time, the patients would be talking to the nurses in charge of that patient, because the patients had to be quarantined.
“The situation has changed in the past to ensure the safety of both the service provider and the recipient.”
In fact, this is an agency that is still working all the time. It just has a different working style. It is an adaptation to the situation so that everyone can receive services safely and without risk to both the service recipient and the service provider. When the situation is like this, everyone must protect themselves more. We can give advice to all service recipients. And we ourselves must wear masks, wash our hands, and follow the measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 correctly.
“If you ask if everyone is still worried, everyone is definitely worried.”
Khun Vee said that everyone must have anxiety. The better the situation is now, the more people come to use the service. But the COVID-19 outbreak is not over yet. We therefore need measures from the IC to come in and provide knowledge and set measures for providing the correct service. There is teaching about the correct behavior in providing the service and protecting yourself. For example, now there will be alcohol gel at every staff’s table. There is control over the wearing of masks. At first, there were no partitions between the tables, so there were partitions, etc.
“We are the starting point of creating an impressive service.”
The Medical Treatment Rights Coordination Unit is like the front line that all patients who receive services must pass through first. Providing all services in this section is like creating a first impression of the hospital’s services. Even though in this situation there are new forms of work added, the unit has been continuously adjusting, whether it is about new treatment rights that have been added, such as what kind of patients are like, what the hospital can claim, whether the patient has to pay or not, etc.
“It is a challenging task. We will manage in a way that preserves the rights of both parties well.”
In this unit, we must protect the rights of both parties, both the patient and the hospital. We also have to coordinate with various units. Every patient who comes in needs help. Nursing is already a job that provides physical assistance, but the work in this unit must increase from just nursing to managing people. Vee said that it was good to be able to perform this administrative role because being a nurse before made the management full of understanding about how nursing should be done, making us put ourselves in other people’s shoes more.
Conclusion
The Medical Treatment Rights Coordination Unit is the first point we encounter when we step into the hospital. This unit will help us find various medical treatment rights. Their services are full of willingness to provide service. And if anyone wants to save time and doesn’t want to wait in line to check their rights at the hospital, everyone can download the TUH for all application to check their rights before going to the hospital. All personnel who use their hearts to work are very happy to provide impressive services to everyone. As Khun Vee said..
“We work together and are happy to serve all patients.”
Follow the story behind the crisis and the actions of medical personnel at Thammasat University Hospital in dealing with the COVID situation in the program Unmask Story, stories behind the masks of medical personnel at Thammasat University Hospital.
Healthcare Rights Coordination Unit | Thammasat University Hospital
Or choose to listen to more information in Podcast format:
Recommended articles:
Physical therapy, an important mission in restoring our bodies
Watch the UNMASK STORY program
with Thammasat University Hospital
every Saturday at 8:00 p.m.
on the Facebook page @ New Generation Salaryman
and The Practical’s social media channels.
