Newly appointed Public Health Minister Pattana Promphat has pledged to improve dialysis services for more than 100,000 patients nationwide within the next two months.
The move comes in response to Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s directive to ensure such treatment is provided free of charge under the “Kidney Dialysis Treatment Everywhere with One ID Card” scheme.
The announcement was made on Wednesday after Mr Anutin raised concerns over widespread complaints from patients who reported being charged extra fees for dialysis, despite their entitlement to free treatment under the universal healthcare programme, also known as the 30-baht scheme.
Mr Anutin tasked the new minister with resolving the issue within two months.
In response, Mr Pattana said the ministry is preparing immediate measures to ease the burden on patients, including exploring the possibility of providing travel allowances for those who must regularly commute to treatment centres.
“The real solution lies not only in dialysis but in organ transplantation, which is the ultimate treatment for kidney disease. The ministry will also work to expand transplant services for the greatest benefit of patients,” he said.
Jadej Thammatacharee, secretary-general of the National Health Security Office (NHSO), expressed confidence that the upgraded services would be in place within two months.
He said patients would no longer incur additional costs, adding that a multidisciplinary team would be established to more effectively assess and prioritise cases.
Not all patients require dialysis, yet some are advised by their doctors to begin treatment earlier than needed, he noted. To address this, the NHSO is considering offering second medical opinions to prevent unnecessary treatments and ensure more efficient use of the budget.
Currently, the NHSO has allocated 16 billion baht for dialysis services, with an estimated increase of more than 3 billion baht required next year. Dr Jadej suggested that “unnecessary cases” may be contributing to the rising costs.
He also acknowledged that while the “Dialysis Everywhere with One ID Card” policy is highly ambitious, further discussions are needed to ensure its successful implementation.