Leaders in healthcare chart a course for the future

When the leaders of South Africa’s private healthcare industry get together for their annual conference in July, their focus will be firmly on the future sustainability of their industry. This year’s conference, with its overarching theme - Healthcare Accountability: Partnering for Success – aims to come up with practical strategies that will challenge the industry to take accountability and change the current status quo.

“We are going to collectively design a roadmap that plots our route to where we want to be in the future,” says Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) spokesperson, Zola Mtshiya. “We have listened to what our conference delegates have asked for. They are from over 300 major companies and institutions in the sector, including healthcare professionals, policymakers and regulators - the pillars of the medical industry - and we have changed the way we will engage this year.”

Hot topics at the conference include: transformation in healthcare, accountability, ethical leadership, health governance, the legal status of CMS Circulars and issues surrounding the regulatory environment. Also under the spotlight will be healthcare financing and service delivery, health information systems and technology, as well as co-ordinated care.

For Dr Humphrey Zokufa, managing director of the BHF, the challenge to the private healthcare sector is the spiralling cost of contributions and services.

He is calling for “robust, ongoing debates” with healthcare providers.

“The aim is to engage with each other and determine what we can do together to contain this cost and ensure that providers are still satisfied with their remuneration,” Dr Zokufa says. “We need to get to the place where we can all work together for the greater good of the patient.”

On Day 1, delegates will start to look forward in time as they assess their industry and work to establish where they want to be – and what regulations are needed – in two, 10 and 20 years’ time.

On Day 2, delegates will be hearing from key speakers who have looked into new ways of addressing existing problems in the sector. Then, on Day 3, the BHF will present the first draft of the newly crafted road map to the industry – the culmination of the debates and discussions and a document which will be the starting point on the journey to create a realistic and sustainable future for the private healthcare industry in the region.

The roadmap will take into account issues such as the need for a unified approach, greater alignment and a common purpose to ensure greater access, affordability and quality. The overarching goals are a coherent legislation and policy framework, the building of trust within the healthcare environment and reducing the burden of disease and trauma.

“We’re excited about what’s ahead,” says Mtshiya. “We know that our work on the document certainly won’t be over, but we also know that we will end the conference having taken the first steps towards real, sustainable change in the industry.”

*The 16th Annual BHF Southern African Conference will be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 26-29 July 2015.

To see the program click here.