DOHA: More than 605,000 people availed of the National Health Insurance Scheme —Seha — in the six months since the scheme was expanded to cover all Qatari nationals, the National Health Insurance Company (NHIC) said yesterday.
The Seha provider network has grown to over 150 healthcare facilities over the same period – well ahead of the target of 100 providers by the end of 2014 – offering citizens more choice and flexibility when accessing healthcare.
Seha saw just 242 complaints made over the course of the six months, 215 of which have been resolved with the remainder under ongoing investigation, NHIC said.
Stage 1 of the scheme was launched on 17 July 2013 providing health insurance cover to Qatari females aged 12 and above for a select set of maternity and women’s healthcare services. The scheme was expanded to cover all citizens for the full spectrum of basic healthcare services with the launch of Stage 2 on April 30 this year. Dental coverage and physiotherapy was included in June.
In order to serve the public better, the NHIC has set up Seha information booths at key hospitals, including Al Ahli, Al Emadi, Doha Clinic, Hamad General, Al Khor Hospital, Al Wakra Hospital, Cuban Hospital and the Women’s Hospital.
Over 16,000 inquiries by the public were made at the information booths in the six months since the launch of Stage 2 while more than 27,000 calls were made to the Seha call center.
During the first year of Seha, a number of Disease Management Programmes were launched, like the Maternity Programme, which treated 34,990 Qatari women during Stage 1 of the scheme, and the Diabetes Management Programme, an added long-term benefit for Seha members.
Introduced in May 2014 shortly after the launch of Stage 2, the programme provides support and education to enable patients to live healthier lives and delay the onset of diabetes-related complications. The programme is open to adult Seha beneficiaries who have been diagnosed with Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes, with 1,474 of those eligible having opted to enrol in the initiative.
Seha’s coverage includes both in-patient and out-patient services including preventative care, emergency treatment, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, long-term care, radiology, ophthalmology, laboratory testing and prescription medicines as well as dental and optical services.
Information and updates on the scheme are available at the Seha website www.seha.qa and through social media at facebook.com/SehaQatar and twitter.com/SehaQatar. Members can also call the Seha call centre on telephone 4020 8444, or alternatively visit the customer care centre on the sixth floor of Amwal Tower in West Bay, Doha.The Peninsula
