Project News

JICA hosted the study trip for the representatives of Medical fee council in Bangkok metropolitan area, which is operated by the National Health Security Office in Thailand, as well as the representatives of the council secretariat (eight participants in total) from 27 October and 2 November 2019. The objective for the trip was to learn operations and experiences at the Central Social Insurance Medical Council, called "Chuikyo" of the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare (MHLW) in Japan.

In this trip, the participants visited the former members of "Chuikyo" who were insurers, health care practitioners, and scholars representing public interest, and discussed the Medical fee system in Japan. This allows them to understand interviewee's thoughts on management and operations at "Chuikyo" as well as measures of how to resolve challenging problems based on interviewee's experiences. Also, the participants visited long-term care hospital, daycare service center for elderly, home care clinic to understand the current status of home health care, chronic care, and nursing care services in Japan as Thailand is estimated to become an aged society in the near future.

The Medical fee council in Bangkok metropolitan area was established in January 2019 based on the results of past activities on this project, and has been discussing the governance structure which involves the decision making process at the council. The council also discusses whether nursing care services should be covered by medical fee system. Therefore, it is hoped that the results of JICA's trainings will provide added value to future discussions and operations at the council.