This adds another level of validation while issuing professional indemnity insurance covers to medical practitioners and in the future may also be useful in building network hospitals for healthcare.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has advised all general and health insurers to consider capturing or collecting healthcare professional (HPR) ID as verification to validate and authenticate medical practitioners while issuing and renewing policies for medical malpractice under Professional Indemnity cover.
Doing so will enable digitization and ease the process of buying and selling professional indemnity policies and push for HPR registration among healthcare professionals.
According to the Irdai circular issued on 22 November under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission adoption by doctors, “Under HPR, an HPR ID will be created via Aadhaar or other KYC, along with the medical qualifications of the medical professional which is verified by their respective State Medical Councils. This HPID serves as a unique ID for medical practitioners to enable connection with all stakeholders of the healthcare ecosystem. Therefore, in order to make the best use of the registry all General and Health Insurers are advised that they can also consider leveraging the Health Professional Registry to build up the network of doctors or physicians or other healthcare professionals for providing OPD or other healthcare services.”
“The IRDAI is in receipt of a communication from the National Health Authority (NHA) on the captioned subject. It is informed that as part of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, NHA has incorporated a Healthcare Professional Registry (HPR), a comprehensive repository of registered and verified practitioners of healthcare professionals delivering modern and traditional healthcare services across India,” the regulator said.
Naval Goel, founder and CEO of PolicyX.com said, in other words, this just adds another level of validation while issuing professional indemnity insurance covers to medical practitioners and in the future may also be useful in building network hospitals for healthcare. “It also helps in better identification of fraudulent activities through better record keeping,” said Goel.
“This mission envisions stimulating positive growth for the health insurance industry both in terms of penetration and innovation. It’s a significant step towards a seamless flow of information among the insurers, doctors and policyholders. The insurance providers can now leverage a network of qualified doctors, practitioners and healthcare professionals to provide extensive OPD coverage,” Amit Chhabra, head – health insurance, Policybazaar.com.
