New HIV Disease Management Programme the largest commitment to HIV in Africa
Dylan Garnett, Metropolitan Health CEO.
GEMS awards HIV management contract to Metropolitan Health and Thebe Ya Bophelo partner programme.
Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS), the largest closed medical scheme in South Africa with over 670 000 members, has appointed Metropolitan Health in partnership with Thebe Ya Bophelo Healthcare Administrators as its HIV Disease Management Programme provider.
Combined with the members enrolled on Metropolitan Health’s HIV YourLife programme (ISO 9001: 2008 accredited), the HIV Disease Management Programme will become the largest organised commitment to managing the disease in Africa, in terms of the amount of lives covered.
Metropolitan Health CEO Dylan Garnett says, “The programme will deliver improved health outcomes for people living with HIV through early identification, personalised health management and improving adherence to antiretrovirals. Improved baseline CD4 counts and reduced viral loads achieved through these interventions are a good proxy for improved quality-of-life, increased longevity and increased productivity at work.”
“We are pleased to be able to partner with Thebe Ya Bophelo, as it has a solid track record in the healthcare industry for delivering effective workplace wellness solutions and cost containment for employers and medical schemes.”
Thebe Ya Bophelo is a Level 1 BBB EE contributor. “The broad-based nature of Thebe Ya Bophelo’s ownership resonated with us, as it aligns with our own as well as GEMS’ transformation objectives.”
Thebe Ya Bophelo CEO, Dr Mangaliso Mahlaba says: “We are proud to partner with Metropolitan Health to deliver this important service. The partnership allows us access to clinical and technology expertise that would have been extremely costly without the support of a well-established administrator and managed care provider.”
The programme forms part of Metropolitan Health’s ongoing efforts towards comprehensive HIV management, which include a first-of-its-kind clinical guidelines mobile application created for healthcare workers of all levels, as well as a Department of Health-endorsed initiative to train general practitioners to conduct circumcisions; proven to reduce the transmission rate of the disease.
Metropolitan Health is a subsidiary of the JSE-listed MMI Holdings Limited, which already has a presence in a number of countries across the continent. “With MMI Holdings’ international division expanding its footprint and health services to clients in Africa, Metropolitan Health has an opportunity to leverage this expansion and provide its health risk management and administration capabilities to the continent.
“The HIV programme model is replicable in these different healthcare industries and offers a strong and effective value proposition in the fight against HIV/Aids across Africa,” explains Garnett.
In its quest to improve health outcomes for its members, the company also recently invested in IBM’s Watson; a computing platform that is able to interact with users in natural language. “We aim to be able to transform health advisory services to members, personalising health services in South Africa as well as driving an outcomes-based service to citizens on the African continent.”
Metropolitan Health has a well-established relationship with GEMS, having been the administrator of the closed scheme for almost 10 years. “Through our advanced technology and our dynamic HIV Disease Management Programme, we are able to deliver an even more holistic healthcare solution to members, as well as position Metropolitan Health as the preferred provider across the continent,” says Garnett.
The HIV Disease Management Programme will run for a period of five years and commences 1 January 2016.
