PPPs will have to play a pivotal role to create a NHI
Through the PPPs, our country has the potential to increase access to critically needed services and goods that otherwise would not be available.
THE WISE and virtuous man is at all times willing that his own private interest should be sacrificed to the public interest,” said Adam Smith, the 18th century philosopher renowned as the father of modern economics, and a major proponent of laissez-faire economic policies.
In essence, through Laissez-faire – French for allow to do – policy of minimum governmental interference in the economic affairs of individuals and society, Smith was endorsing the principle of social solidarity, today’s concept of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), something needed to accelerate the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI).
The acceleration was made even more necessary when in his Budget speech Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan gave an update on the implementation of the NHI as follows:
“Eleven NHI pilots have yielded valuable insights, on which we are now able to build.
“These include the design of contracts with general practitioners; more effective chronic medicine dispensing; strengthening district health services through clinical specialist teams; ward-based outreach teams and school health services, and supportive information systems.”
He added: “In the next phase of NHI implementation, an NHI Fund will be established. Its initial focus will be to improve access to a common set of maternal health and ante-natal services and family planning services; to expand the integrated school health programmes, including provision of spectacles and hearing aids, and to improve services for people with disabilities, the elderly and mentally ill patients, including provision of wheelchairs and other assistive devices.” Health care is one of the most important components of our quality of life. As Adam Smith predicted more than 200 years ago, the PPPs are likely to become a key feature of any successful implementation of the NHI.
As the 15-year implementation plan gathers momentum, the private sector needs to develop sound frameworks in which partnerships with the public sector can be enhanced.
Through the PPPs, our country has the potential to increase access to critically needed services and goods that otherwise would not be available.
For example, we at AfroCentric Group and our other companies such as Medscheme, Aid for Aids, Pharmacy Direct, ADS (formerly Bonitas Marketing) and others understand that health care reform in our country is not going to be a smooth ride. But it is exactly what the country needs to achieve universal health care coverage.
The truth is, while the health sector is growing, the majority of South Africans still rely on the chronically under-funded public health care system as their sole source of medical care.
We know that only about 16 percent of South Africans have access to private health care. The NHI seeks to introduce universal health cover for every citizen. In South Africa, there are at least 43 million people who rely on the government for health care services, and just more than 7 million who belong to medical aid schemes.
To live up to our belief in PPPs, our courier pharmacy, Pharmacy Direct, has partnered with the government in seven of the nine provinces as part of the Central Chronic Medication Dispensing and Distribution Programme to, among others:
Reduce the queues at the clinics and hospitals by using data and employing individuals to assist with enrolling patients on the programme.
Deliver medication to both urban and rural areas to reduce the number of visits by patients through delivery to designated pick-up points.
This internationally funded project aims to: Improve access to chronic medicines. Improve service delivery. Improve patient experience. Develop a business model for private sector involvement in the provision of health care services in the public sector. Pilot the project for NHI implementation. We are confident that PPPs can be a vital instrument for improving the health of the population.
Antoine van Buuren is chief executive of AfroCentric Group, owners of Medscheme and other health care providers.