HEALTH
Chronically ill patients left in limbo
- Published: 10 Jan 2013 at 00.00
- Newspaper section: News
Thirteen out of 87 hospitals that are the main contractors of the Social Security Office (SSO) are struggling to refer patients with severe and chronic illnesses to bigger hospitals because of the slow clearance of treatment payments.
Chanat Chantaracharoen, director of the Medical Service System Management Bureau of the SSO, revealed the problem of the terminated referral of patients.
He said that it happened to some private hospitals that were the main contractors of the SSO because other hospitals with higher capacities did not extend their contracts with the main contractor hospitals. They did not renew the contracts because they did not receive payments for the treatment of referred patients. The SSO categorises the contracted hospitals with higher capacities as "supra contractors".
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