MUSCAT: The Dhamani electronic platform – marking the culmination of a multi-year initiative spearheaded by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to underpin the implementation of a robust health insurance system in the Sultanate of Oman – is now approaching key milestones in its complete operationalisation.
A significant majority of the market participants and stakeholders of the health industry in Oman have now been onboarded, with the Authority having announced further deadlines – distributed over the course of 2025 – designed to integrate private clinics and pharmacies onto the platform.
“We are pleased to announce that the first phase of the Dhamani platform project has been completed, and the market onboarding process reached 86 per cent completion, integrating (system to system) hospitals, insurance companies, and third-party administrators,” said Dr Hatim Dawood al Lawati, In-charge of Dhamani.
“Starting from 1am on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, all transactions will be processed through the Dhamani platform. In addition, within the next two months, banks will be linked to the platform to facilitate electronic payments, with full implementation scheduled for January 1, 2025. We are now focusing on developing Phase 2’s products, which are set to launch in 2025,” Dr Al Lawati stated in a newsletter outlining the progress made in the implementation of the landmark initiative.
According to the official, the Dhamani system will contribute significantly to improving the quality of health insurance services in the country. This will be achieved by “crediting all health insurance transactions and accelerating the pace of treatment approvals to be instantaneous and direct”, he noted. “It will also ensure transparency in dealings among all parties providing health insurance services under the supervision of regulatory authorities.”
The Dhamani platform was officially launched on October 1, 2024, enabling all 9 insurance payers, 3 Third Party Administrators (TPAs) and 33 hospitals to exchange data on all health insurance transactions within the Authority’s sandbox environment.
A circular issued by the Authority last month has set the following deadlines for the few remaining market participants to be fully integrated with the Dhamani platform: Private health polyclinics and their branches (December 31, 2024); Private pharmacies (December 31, 2024); Private pharmacies with five or less branches (will be invited to join the platform on January 1, 2025 and complete the process by the year-end); and Private Clinics (also will be invited to join the platform on January 1, 2025 with a deadline to complete the process by December 31, 2025).
Significantly, the health insurance sector accounts for a remarkable 35 per cent of total insurance premium portfolio in Oman, underscoring its strong growth potential, say FSA authorities.
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