Affordable Quality Health Care is the Goal for 2017
There are a number of new ways to provide affordable quality healthcare 2017.
These include:
- Working against rising costs in the healthcare industry
- Placing effective and managed care options
- Private doctor partnerships for treatment of health issues
Affordable quality Healthcare and Containing costs
The main challenge facing healthcare firms is the ever increasing cost of services. Healthcare has risen by up to 5% more than the Consumer Price Index (CPI) over the last 13 years.
A spokesman for Bonitas said S.A. medical schemes will have to adapt their working plans to meet these goals.
He said that the cost increase involved with clinics and private doctors fees were beyond the control of the healthcare industry.
What Bonitas suggests
- A reduction in the number of unnecessary ops and tests ordered by private doctors
- Exploring and putting in place solutions to stop increases in fees
- A managed care system for high-risk members. Although these members were only a small part of healthcare, they accounted for the largest share of the costs covered by healthcare schemes
Other healthcare plans
An example of a healthcare plan is what is known as the DBC programme designed for chronic back and neck pain sufferers. The programme uses muscular-skeletal and physio for the treatment of back and neck pain, therefore. instead of an op, patients have three months of exercise.
This helps to restore mobility and control with exercises targeting trunk and neck muscles of the spinal cord. This plan has a success rate of 85% for treatments and avoids surgery.
Other cost Savings ideas
A major reason for the increase in the cost of healthcare in the country is fraud, wastage of supplies and other forms of abuse. These factors alone add R22 billion every year to private healthcare in South Africa.
Bonitas plans to reduce fraud by 7% with an advanced software system that analyses data to identify abnormal trends. This will help them recover money on bad claims and lead to fining guilty parties.
Bonitas will also introduce tailored apps for its members, brokers and doctors. The user-friendly apps will allow them to talk with Bonitas easily. Babyline is an example of one of these apps. Operated in tandem with the University of Pretoria’s Paediatrics Department, it is a dedicated line offering parents advice and is available 24/7/365.
All info was correct at time of publishing