With appropriate risk adjustments, policymakers, insurers and healthcare providers can assess and compare the quality and cost-effectiveness of the surgeons and facilities despite them having very different patient profiles.
Customers would really prioritise only three factors for healthcare services: clinical outcome, patient experience such as waiting time and service hospitality, and price. In choosing insurance products, beyond the current terms offered, customers would want to know the historic rates of declining claims, the number of disputes between insurer and policy holder as well as the patterns of premium adjustments over the years.
MOH already puts out comparisons of insurers’ lifetime premiums, sample contracts, claims processing duration and pre-authorisation turnaround times. Combining these with clinical data is necessary now.
Surely in a Smart Nation, all this data could be collected, analysed and made available so that all stakeholders can make better decisions.
We all want the best available for the lowest costs, and in finding value, such data would greatly aid customer selection of the insurers that best meet their needs and budgets. Different facilities do have different sophistication and expertise and these should be aligned to the needs of the specific patients.
