DOHA: The Qatar National Insurance Company (NHIC) has denied newspaper reports on Sunday that a referral from a primary healthcare facility has been made mandatory for beneficiaries of the national health insurance company -Seha- to consult a specialist.
In a statement issued yesterday, NHIC said that that currently, a referral is required only for those seeking the services of a physiotherapist under the scheme. However, there is a plan to implement a referral system in future.
“The National Health Insurance Company confirms that Seha members are free to visit specialists and physicians at any of the health service provider within the Seha network. All that is required to use Seha is for members to provide their QID and their residential number,” said the statement.
“The process to use Seha has not changed. However, it should be noted that instituting a gate keeping system whereby referrals are required from a primary health care physician is a key tenet of the National Health Strategy and will be implemented at a future date,” it added. In the meantime, only those requiring physiotherapy will need a referral from a general practitioner or specialist to receive treatment at one of Seha’s health services providers, said the statementThe Peninsula
