Medical billing going online / Network of data will benefi.

Medical billing going online / Network of data will benefit public, but some oppose FY11 target

Kenji Uchida and Fumihiko Abe / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

Yomiuri

While the government is pressing ahead with moves to fully computerize the application process medical institutions use for claiming health insurance-covered medical expenses, some medical practitioners, especially older ones, remain steadfastly opposed to the full-scale introduction of the Web-based medical billing system.

The online billing and payment processing system, which is already in use by more than half the nation's medical institutions, aims to boost the efficiency of the procedures involved in applying for health insurance payments. The government plans to have all medical bodies using the system by the end of fiscal 2010.

The system is designed to allow the online processing of detailed, itemized statements of expenses prepared by medical institutions and pharmacies for payments by government-run health insurance plan operators, such as municipal governments and corporate health insurance societies.

The statements include such information as patients' names, dates of birth and addresses, names of their diseases or injuries, the treatment and procedures they have undergone, the …