The Life Insurance Association (LIA) Singapore has launched a standard pre-authorisation form for medical insurance, to be completed by the policyholder’s attending doctor.

According to a statement from the association, the form was developed with feedback from medical professionals and aims to minimise the administrative burden for doctors. It is designed for elective treatment in the private healthcare sector, that is, for patients (policyholders) who are seeking specialist care by private doctors in private hospitals, it added.

The new form will be used beginning October 01, and no action will be required on the policyholder’ end.

Prior to having a standard form, insurers had their own versions of the pre-authorisation form, with different information required each.  The LIA said that a standardised approach will bring consistency of practice among all IP insurers, as well as a hassle-free application process for attending doctors.

“A unified practice would avert a situation such as the one in the United States, where a lack of standardisation has led to excessive administrative burden on medical providers,” the LIA said in its statement.