Abu Dhabi: Forgetful patients have left behind hundreds of medical insurance cards at pharmacies in the capital.
Pharmacies attached to hospitals said they routinely find insurance cards left by customers on their counters.
“I have not counted them yet. There could be more than 400,” a man at Lifeline Hospital Pharmacy said, pointing to several stacks of cards wrapped in rubber bands and kept near the cash counter.
“At times people claim them within days. But mostly they don’t show up at all,” said the pharmacist.
“We do not throw the cards away even if they are past their expiry date. We are aware of their importance and keep them safely. We also try to contact the card owners,” he added.
Growing problem
Pharmacists at the Shaikh Khalifa Medical Centre complex also said instances of people forgetting their insurance cards have increased manifold since health insurance was made mandatory for all employees in the capital.
“I have a drawer full of cards and I don’t know what to do with them. Every few days someone or the other forgets to take back his card,” said an Indian pharmacist.
Similar views were expressed by an Arab pharmacist who has been saddled with scores of cards.
“I know of a man who has forgotten his insurance card here on three separate occasions. Thankfully, he came back to collect it each time,” he said.
Kotha Sreedhar, chief pharmacist at NMC pharmacy attached to NMC Specialty Hospital, said it’s not fair to blame patients. “Sometimes even pharmacists forget to hand back the cards. Whatever be the case, in such situations, we reach out to patients with the help of hospital records and ask them to collect the cards.”
“Some come almost immediately, while others ask us to keep it safe till their next visit hospital visit.
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