NGHỆ AN — Local health insurance authorities of the central province of Nghệ An have issued some 5,000 health insurance cards with wrong personal information, the provincial authority has said.

A group of supervisors from the province’s People’s Council released the figure in a report after conducting urgent checks on local health insurance authorities in the province’s Tương Dương District.

The supervisors found that district health insurance agencies last year issued some 6,800 health insurance card, but 5,000 of them contained incorrect information, including names, gender, addresses and identify numbers.

Most of the errors were blamed on insurance officials’ lack of caution while preparing profiles for holders, which was the first step in the process of granting insurance.

 “The wrong information caused terrible inconvenience for both health insurance holders and officials when the cards were used during health checks,” according to a district health official.

Director of the Chương Dương District’s Health Department Vi Xuân Chiến said on Wednesday that incorrect information on health insurance cards had caused problems for officials while completing insurance procedures, thus hindering the entire payment process.

Chiến also said due to the wrongdoing, doctors faced difficulties in completing patients’ medical records, particularly during emergency situations.

According to Chiến, Chương Dương District was among the localities active in implementing the Government’s policy to encourage people to participate in the health insurance system, particularly those in far or remote areas.

The district currently has built a total of 18 healthcare centres, of which 13 have met the national qualification standard for local health insurance provision, Chiến said.

However, the district should review and inspect the entire system, he added. — VNS