PhilHealth, PSA ink pact on death info data sharing

State-run Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) said Friday it has signed a joint undertaking with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) on data sharing of death information records.

In a statement, PhilHealth said the partnership agreement with the PSA will help the state insurer to fulfill its mandate of maintaining an accurate database of members in aid of expanding its benefit packages and improving service delivery while minimizing if not eradicating fraud in claims reimbursements all at the same time.

Under the accord, PhilHealth shall provide PSA with electronic lists of identified members and their dependents which would then be matched with the latter’s death records.

The PSA, on the other hand, will also develop a matching program called Decentralized Vital Statistics to validate the lists to be submitted by PhilHealth.

“Data sharing agreement also translates to data integrity that would further help PhilHealth to remain steadfast and committed to its vision, that is, "Bawat Filipino, Miyembro, Bawat Miyembro, Protektado, Kalusugan ng Lahat, Segurado,” said PhilHealth president and chief executive officer Dante Gierran.

For his part, PSA chief and National Statistician Claire Dennis Mapa said, “We have been engaging in data sharing agreement with several agencies as the demand for accurate information increases. Despite the continuing challenges and constraints of the pandemic, we can still work together to improve the accuracy in our system, and extend our capacity to promote honest and integrity in public service.”

To ensure the confidentiality of data, both agencies have committed to strictly abide by the provisions of Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012.—AOL, GMA News