Impact of introduction of smart card technology on delivery of health care -- Amicus Advisory
About the Project

Organizational Overview
Amicus Advisory is a consulting firm operating in the field of health and accident insurance. It provides various services to add value to insurance schemes like structuring health schemes, developing functional plans, execution, monitoring and evaluation, and capacity development. Amicus’ core team members have worked extensively with governments, international development organizations, insurers, implementers, service providers and beneficiaries with regards to many of the large insurance schemes in India.
Project Description
Beneficiaries
The project beneficiaries include clients of the Rajiv Gandhi Shilpi Swasthya Bima Yojana (RGSSBY) scheme for handicraft artisans. The schemes cover over 0.8 million families.
The project targets nearly 20,000 families (approximately 80,000 lives) of poor handicraft artisans in three adjoining districts of Uttar Pradesh. Nearly 60 per cent of the beneficiaries have average household income of less than US$ 40 per month. About 57 per cent of the beneficiaries have reported sickness in the family in 2010 and incur an average out-of-pocket expenditure of 10 per cent of their household income.
Learning Agenda
- Use of technology and processes: How can smart cards be effectively used in outpatient and inpatient care for identification, minimizing fraud, tracking expenses, and reducing claims?
- Client value: Can smart cards enabled delivery of healthcare increase client value through a reduction in waiting time, and create a medical record to support appropriate diagnosis and treatment?
- Business case: Can use of smart cards help reduce administration costs of a health insurance scheme?
- Network development and enhancement: Can data generated by smart card technology help identify gaps in health care coverage (e.g. distance covered by patients, disease patterns) and lead to new health care providers being added to the scheme?