By Oluwaseyi Adeshina

The need for best practices in corporate governance in health sector institutions, particularly among the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO).

Stating this in Lagos, the Managing Director of Clearline HMO, Dr. Isaac Akintunji said the move  will instill public confidence in the National Health Insurance Scheme and engender growth in the industry.

Akintunji disclosed that it has become imperative for corporate organizations to ensure best practices and strict adherence to ethical standards and for  organizations to put sound management structure in place and promote business integrity.

According to him, Clearline HMO has benchmarked its corporate structure and system with the best practices in corporate governance, which has helped in great measures particularly in the face of current economic challenges in the country.

Akintunji said the strategic importance of HMOs to the well being of human capital  would steer any nation out of economic challenge, even as he urged Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) to operate with utmost integrity, professionalism and strong ethical value system.

He challenged the HMOs to ensure prompt payment of capitation and also payment of claims as at when due, stressing that such would deepen the penetration of the health insurance scheme in Nigeria, and ultimately help in nurturing a virile economy since the human capital would be at the optimal performance level.

Akintunji also called on regulators in the health sector to perform their oversight functions effectively. This according to him will eradicate unprofessional conducts that may hamper the growth of the insurance scheme in Nigeria.

It would be recalled that Akintunji and two executive directors of Clearline HMO, Dr. Babatunde Ladele and Rev. Oladapo Kolawole were recently inducted as permanent members of Institute of Directors (IOD).