IRDAI Extends Deadline for Hospitals to Register under ROHINI Network

The insurance regulator on Friday extended the deadline for hospitals to register under ROHINI (Registry of Hospitals in Network of Insurance) from October 30 to December 31, 2016. With ROHINI, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) aims at bringing all requisite information regarding health insurance policies under a single registry.

IRDAI hopes to bring more than one lakh hospitals in India under the ambit of ROHINI, which is being maintained by the Insurance Information Bureau (IIB). The common data network will have policyholder details, available treatment facilities, hospitalisation costs, claim amount, etc.

According to health regulations, the portal will allow hospitals to register, make changes and add information to increase transparency and faster settlement of claims.

"We are hoping this will bring greater transparency in the healthcare system if the cost of treatment will be known upfront. We are also hoping that with the data emerging we'd be able to study and analyse trends in lifestyle conditions, terminal illnesses, communicable diseases by age, gender and geography. The system will also act as an exchange for electronic medical records (EMRs) between hospitals and insurance companies," said an IIB official.

"Pooling in this data will also help curb fraud. Hospitals are overcharging, overbilling, recommending unnecessary medical procedures and prescribing unrelated drugs. Sometimes the same hospital chain will charge different rates for the same procedure - depending on where the hospital building is located. With our system in place, such anomalies will be better captured," added the official.

Under phase1 of the initiative, hospitals will get a global unique ID/global location number (GLN). If there is any change or addition to an existing hospital, alerts can be sent to the insurance companies and TPAs. "Hospitals can then give additional details like the number of beds, specialities offered, enrolled doctors. Details of diagnostic centres and clinics attached to the hospitals can also be sent," said the official.