If GPs are contracted in to a medical scheme network, they might be pressurised to recommend cheaper treatment options and medications, say SA health bodies.
The Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) and the IPA Foundation (IPAF) is extremely concerned at the comments made recently by the Health Professions Council of South Africa concerning Designated Service Providers (DSPs).
The HPCSA recently released a statement to the effect that healthcare practitioners should be cautious when concluding designated service provider (DSP) agreements with medical schemes as the medical schemes attempted to reduce costs by applying pressure on practitioners within a DSP network to prescribe medication or recommend treatment options, when other more appropriate, albeit more expensive, options were medically indicated and readily available.
Pushing healthcare costs down
In the current environment where there are no regulated tariffs for healthcare procedures,
Continue reading…