Striving for better and bigger is part of human nature, while electronic medical records, electronic prescribing, appointment booking, and telemedicine are some of the blessings of IT for healthcare department. Besides, the smart card is also making up its mark in the healthcare department encouraging virtual communication, cyber banking, speedy data transfer, etc.

What is a smart card in health insurance?

Since you live in a modern age, I’m sure all of you are quite aware of the smart card. It is a plastic card with an embedded chip on it which helps in storing and transfer of information among users. However, in the healthcare department, the smart card helps you strike a remarkable balance between patient care efficiency and privacy.

You can store every bit of your health-related data including social security number, medical insurance information, type of coverage, while some significant information such as blood type, family data file, medical history, and known allergies in the smart card.

Smart card taking over health care department:

The smart card technology is drastically taking over the world. Millions of people every year opt for this advanced mode of health care. Studies show that beyond 5 billion smart cards get allotted annually from every nook and corner of the world.

Moreover, numerous countries are opting for this modern mean, thus reducing the administrative cost. Taiwan has reduced is administrative cost up to 2% from overall health care expenses through the application of smart cards.

In the year 2012, the administrative complexity of America's healthcare system was roughly between $107 to $389 billion, while in 2015 US saved up to 1$ trillion by adopting the smart card healthcare system.

Advantages of smart card for hospitals:

A smart card is like a breath of fresh air for the hospital authorities to sustain a hospitable and welcoming relation with the patients:

  • Through smart cards, biometric verification, the hospital can smartly access authentic patient identification.
  • At the end of the day, we are humans and can make an error in sustaining medical records of the patient. This is where smart card steps in, offering 100% authentic medical record of the patient.
  • Bid farewell to the handwritten transcripts, room allocation, and manual administration system. Opt for the state of the art smart card for efficient administration in the hospital.

Benefits of smart card for patients:

Talk about patients, the smart card is nothing less than a blessing in disguise; let us look at some of the benefits:

  • A smart card is making the portability of patient medical record quite easy. The patient has every bit of his medical history, allergies, and previous treatment saved in it. Hence, you can take it from one health provider to another.
  • E-prescription is taking over the typical method of taking medicines. All you have to do is insert smart card through your system and provide all your medical record to the pharmacist or health provider, and you will be delivered medicines in no time.
  • Accessible insurance plans and limits and intimate health provider.

However, in the case of health insurance, the smart card helps you by:

  • Making communication between insurer and health provider easy.
  • Speedy transaction from the insurance company to the hospital for all the medical treatment you need, especially in major health issues claims.

Reference:

  1. https://www.securetechalliance.org/resources/pdf/Smart-Cards-in-Healthcare-FAQ-Series-
    Smart-Cards-and-the-Healthcare-Ecosystem.pdf
  2. https://icucare.com/history-of-smart-cards-in-healthcare/