BusinessLive reports that the SA Private Practitioners Forum (PPF), SA’s largest umbrella body for doctors in private practice, says the recent measures suggesting the government should consider regulating where they worked could drive scarce skills overseas.  

The Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF), which is an industry body representing medical schemes and administrators, on Friday published research highlighting the uneven geographical distribution of healthcare professionals working in private practice.  It recommended the health department revisit regulations requiring doctors to obtain a “certificate of need” or ministerial approval prior to practising.  The PPF’s CEO Chris Archer said if the government tried to compel doctors in private practice to work in underserviced areas, it would in all likelihood prompt people to emigrate.  He commented that government intervention should focus on health-care facilities rather than on individuals, saying that hospital licensing at a national planning level “would make a lot more sense because it would provide a holistic view of what was required in various areas.”  The BHF’s research showed almost half (22,802) the health-care professionals in private practice in 2017 were in Gauteng, home to about 40% of SA’s medical scheme members.

• Read this report by Tamar Kahn in full at BusinessLive

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