Gold Card expansion on Nov 1

Subscribers to the state’s universal health care programme, or the “gold card” scheme, will be able to access treatment with much less red tape at a wider range of medical clinics, after Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered the government to make the scheme more accessible to the general public.

The announcement was made by government spokesman, Anucha Burapachaisri, who said that starting from Nov 1, gold card scheme subscribers will be able to access medical care at any clinic within their healthcare zones, under a pilot programme launched by the government.

At present, subscribers are limited to accessing treatments at one clinic within their zones.

Once the programme kicks off, subscribers will be able to access treatments at clinics which are affiliated with the “Ob Oon” network. The National Health Security Office (NHSO) is working to add 500 more community clinics in Bangkok to its list of affiliated healthcare facilities.

Mr Anucha said members can make an appointment via an application which is developed by the state-run Krung Thai Bank. The appointments will initially be opened to patients with chronic ailments, such as diabetes and hypertension, which are required to see doctors regularly.

In addition, gold card scheme members referred to hospitals for complicated treatments will no longer need to secure referral documents from their registered clinics or hospitals.

The spokesman said that as many members found it inconvenient to have to obtain the referral papers prior to treatment, an online database is being set up to enable automatic transfers of gold card subscribers’ information.

Mr Anucha added subscribers who choose switch to another clinic can begin to receive medical services immediately, instead of having to wait 15 days for the transfer of patient information to be finalised.

For gold card scheme subscribers which have been diagnosed with cancer, the NHSO will refer them to hospitals specialising in cancer treatments, which are less crowded.