Smart Cards and Unique Patient Identifier (UID using Aadhaar) for policyholders to drive digitization of Health Insurance in India

New Delhi, December 14, 2016: Digitization and IT are changing the landscape of healthcare and health insurance ecosystem in the country. PM’s initiative of ‘Digital India’ has given a further boost to digitization that will help in the adoption of Electronic Health Records (EHR) and Health Information Systems in the sector. This will enable seamless interoperability of data that will facilitate patient safety and lead to better patient outcomes. With the health insurance sector poised for major growth in the coming decade, demand for more efficient systems of data storage and transfer is set to increase.

The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) in association with QuintilesIMS, today launched a Knowledge Paper titled ‘Health Insurance in Digital India’, at the ninth FICCI Annual Health Insurance Conference. As per the study, Unique Identification of stakeholders within the healthcare ecosystem such as providers, diagnostic centers and doctors will play a critical role in the growth of digitization of health insurance in India.

The FICCI – QuintilesIMS study was commissioned in order to identify the appropriate roadmap for all stakeholders involved digitization across health insurance industry. The study details out several initiatives taken up by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, GoI and IRDAI to drive digitization across health insurance sector in India. The key initiatives that need to be taken up for digitizing the health insurance market include:

• Standardize data format for capturing patient details for easy exchange

• Use of unique patient identifier (UID using Aadhaar) for policy holders

• Unique identification for providers

• Smart cards for policy holders with policy benefits, utilization and health details

• Digital storage of pre-policy health checkup data

• Digital policies linked to UID and data storage with anytime access

Mr G Srinivasan, Chair, FICCI Health, Insurance Committee & CMD, The New India Assurance said,“Health insurance is an important component of the healthcare delivery ecosystem wherein digitisation becomes mandatory for enhancing the overall patient care and experience. At present only one-fifth of the population is covered with some form of health insurance. This suggests that huge potential for growth is available for the healthcare insurance industry. Digitization presents many opportunities for health insurers. For instance, it helps in expanding reach, improves market share, and helps in providing additional value to customers.”

Amit Mookim, General Manager, South Asia, QuintilesIMS, said, “Health insurance is an important component of the healthcare delivery ecosystem wherein digitisation becomes mandatory for enhancing the overall patient care and experience. At present only one-fifth of the population is covered with some form of health insurance. This suggests that huge potential for growth is available for the healthcare insurance industry. Digitization presents many opportunities for health insurers. For instance, it helps in expanding reach, improves market share, and helps in providing additional value to customers.”

“In India, insurers have taken steps to incorporate digitization into their business models, but adoption has been sluggish due to many challenges in the path. Through this Study, our effort has been to draw out a realistic phase-wise approach wherein all stakeholders could collaborate to counter the challenges faced and implement innovative technologies to create a strong digital healthcare ecosystem for India,” Mr Mookim added.

Ms Malti Jaisawal, COO, Health Insurance TPA of India said, “Most of the digital initiatives across health insurance market are being undertaken across sales and marketing and policy administration as it requires low degree of support from stakeholders across the value chain. For example, in online sale of policies, other stakeholders like providers, doctors and TPAs have minimal involvement. However, cross stakeholder collaboration would be critical in most of the other initiatives to drive digitization across health insurance”.

Most of the digital initiatives across health insurance market are being undertaken across sales and marketing and policy administration as it requires low degree of support from stakeholders across the value chain. For example, in online sale of policies, other stakeholders like providers, doctors and TPAs have minimal involvement. However, cross stakeholder collaboration would be critical in most of the other initiatives to drive digitization across health insurance. There are several initiatives which can help to drive the agenda for digitization across health insurance industry. Over twenty such initiatives have been identified in the FICCI – QuintilesIMS Study.

Key Facts:

1. The country’s insurance market is expected to quadruple in size over the next 10 years from its current size of US$ 60 billion

2. Online sales of health insurance estimated to grow 15-20 times by 2020

3. At US$ 0.71 billion (till September 2015), the health segment seized 27.75 per cent share in gross direct premiums

Corporate Comm India(CCI Newswire)