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Jean de Villiers' injury highlights importance of choosing medical scheme cover wisely

28 May 2014 Resolution Health Medical Scheme and Zurreal

Lover of dangerous sports or death defying adventures? Make sure your healthcare cover suits your sporting endeavours.

If you are a professional rugby player or lover of extreme sports, national rugby captain, Jean de Villiers' recent knee injury serves as a reminder to ensure that your healthcare cover is in line with the lifestyle that you lead.

The warning comes after de Villiers was ruled out for eight weeks following a serious knee injury that will see him miss the June tests against Scotland and Wales.

According to Dr Jacques Snyman, clinical advisor for Resolution Health Medical Scheme, "You must ask your medical scheme if they cover extreme sports. Due to the high risk of injury in these sports, medical schemes often impose stringent exclusions when it comes to providing medical cover to people who engage in rather hazardous activities."

"An extreme sport refers to activities that place you at a high risk of injury. This can include anything from contact sports such as rugby and boxing to base jumping and rock climbing," explains Dr Snyman.

Jean de Villiers, member and brand representative for Resolution Health and its loyalty and wellbeing partner, Zurreal, falls into this category. "My line of work is physically challenging and can take its toll on the body. Injuries in rugby are not uncommon. Due to the lifestyle I lead, I have always placed a high premium on ensuring that I have quality healthcare cover that will be there for me should I get sick or injure myself," he says.

Here are some tips from Dr Snyman for extreme sportsmen and women to ensure that they are on top of their game when it comes to choosing medical cover:

Casualty and emergency visits - Contrary to popular belief, casualty visits do not form part of your in-hospital benefits. Despite the casualty ward being located at the hospital, it is actually considered an out-of-hospital visit and many members face costly, often unaffordable, out-of-pocket expenses when overlooking this important benefit. Make sure that you are fully aware of how your medical scheme option covers these types of events.

Specialised Radiology - Radiology such as MRI and CT scans, as well as other diagnostic tests, are an important benefit for extreme sports players. When specialised radiology is required it usually means that the injuries are severe and may need immediate medical attention. CT scans are used to obtain detailed 3D images of almost any area of the body, including the chest, abdomen, liver, pancreas, the pelvis, arms and legs. MRI scans also prove invaluable in examining almost any part of the body including bones and joints, internal organs, the brain and spinal cord. Nuclear medicine scans are used to evaluate bones for fractures or scan lungs for respiratory and blood flow problems.

Specialist visits - Extreme lifestyles typically require specialist attention when things go wrong. Medical scheme options for people who enjoy extreme sports should provide adequate access to specialists. Ensure that you are fully aware of any annual limits applied by your medical scheme when it comes to specialist care, as well as applicable co-payments, which may translate into out-of-pocket expenses.

"Other than that, make sure you always have your medical scheme card with you and save important contacts on your phone such as your scheme's pre-authorisation call centre number, emergency assistance partner and client services number," advises Dr Snyman.

"As a professional rugby player, the best advice I can give to anyone is to ensure that your healthcare cover is in line with the type of lifestyle you lead. When we live life on the edge or engage in tough physical sports like I do, it's best to have trusted medical scheme cover that will have your back should disaster strike," concludes de Villiers.

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