Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) is introducing a cashless system for all medical service payments across its network of hospitals and facilities from Monday.
After successful trials at selected facilities including Women’s Hospital, Al Sadd Paediatric Emergency Center and the Bone and Joint Center, the system is being rolled out across HMC’s network of hospitals and facilities.
Patients going to HMC hospitals and facilities for appointments or services, will need to pay by credit, debit or e-cash card (a cashless card available from QNB for QR20, which can be topped up and used to pay for other government services), instead of using cash.
In the near future, the cashless system will also allow any subsequent payments for services to be taken at the service counter. This method will also apply to pharmacy, allowing patients to retrieve and pay for their prescriptions more efficiently.
“Every day there are thousands of transactions across our network. The new system will mean a faster, more convenient experience for our patients,” said a spokesperson from the Finance and Accounting Department at HMC. “The implementation is part of a wider programme looking at streamlining and enhancing the overall patient experience across the organisation.”
“There could be a period of adjustment as patients get used to the new system, but our cashiers and support staff have been fully trained in its implementation. We would like to thank our patients for their support and cooperation.”
Along with some hospitals and centres at HMC, the cashless system has also been successfully introduced at other Qatar government facilities including Primary Health Care Corporation, the Traffic Department and the General Directorate of Borders, Passports and Expatriates Affairs.
In 2015, HMC had introduced the new cashless payment system for outpatient appointments at the Bone and Joint Center and the Internal Medicine Clinic. Again in 2016, Al Sadd Paediatric Emergency Center introduced the new cashless payment system for all its services. Similarly, HMC also introduced the cashless payment system in the same year for outpatient appointments at Women’s Hospital. The implementation of the cashless system is aimed at streamlining and enhancing the overall ambulatory patient experience across the organisation.
Meanwhile, HMC has expanded the services by moving all ENT (Ear, Nose Throat) day and inpatient surgery from Rumailah Hospital and Hamad General Hospital to one of its newest Medical City Hospitals – the Ambulatory Care Center (ACC).
This move is supported by the opening of a new Pre-Admission Anaesthesia Clinic (PAAC) at the ACC for patients scheduled for ENT surgery as well as ophthalmology, urology, plastics and gastroenterology procedures. The PAAC provides patients with a thorough medical evaluation to ensure they are ready to go ahead with the planned procedure or surgery.
The ACC has so far welcomed over 40,000 patients to the new facility and this number is expected to continue to grow throughout the coming year.
