DOHA: Majority of the Qatari women beneficiaries of the national health insurance scheme – Seha - say that the scheme had given them greater choice when seeking healthcare and in the past they had been paying for the services at private facilities due to the lack of insurance cover, shows a survey.
The “patient experience survey” sought opinion from Qatari women who were covered in the first phase of the insurance scheme. A total of 1,530 women took part in the survey, conducted by the Qatar Statistics Authority on behalf of National Health Insurance Company (NHIC) between July and December last year.
The survey results showed that the majority of Qatari women who had received treatment for maternity and women’s health related issues under the scheme since July last year were satisfied with the scheme and its service.
Of the surveyed, 84 percent said that the scheme had met or exceeded their expectation. A significant 90 percent of respondents rated very highly the women’s health benefits received under the scheme. Four-fifths of the respondents (79 percent) rated the hospital experience under the health insurance scheme very favourably.
An overwhelming 97 percent of respondents supported the extension of Seha to all Qatari citizens, in the second phase.
A total 84 percent of the respondents said the scheme gives them greater freedom of choice when seeking healthcare through its network of public and private providers, with 83 percent indicating they had in the past covered visits to private healthcare facilities at their own expense due to the lack of insurance cover. Seventy-nine percent of the surveyed indicated that they would recommend the facility they have visited to family members and friends.
On the customer service front, 83 percent said that the overall experience when using the Seha call centre was either good or very good while 83 percent said that they were satisfied with the information they received from the Seha information booths set up at some of the providers they visited.
The survey was also intended to understand patient’s experiences with the provider network included within Seha, said NHIC.
Eight providers – HMC Women’s Hospital, Al Emadi Hospital, Al Ahli Hospital, Doha Clinic, Al Wakra Hospital, Al Khor Hospital, the Cuban Hospital and Al Hayat Medical Centre – are currently included and an updated network for Stage 2 will be announced prior to its launch on April 30.
“These survey results represent a positive acknowledgement of our efforts to ensure the success of this exceptional initiative. However, we understand there is always room for improvement, and this is what we are looking forward to doing over the coming stages of Seha,” said Dr Faleh Mohamed Hussain Ali, Acting CEO of NHIC.
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.
The Peninsula
