High cost of healthcare in the private sector EThekwini Hospital and Heart Centre.

Abstract

ABSTRACT: South Africa faces a quandary of healthcare issues which is categorized by a prejudiced and fragmented healthcare delivery system. South Africa has a two-tier healthcare system which is made up of a dismal public healthcare sector and an exorbitantly priced private healthcare sector. The private healthcare sector has come under scrutiny as healthcare pricing has surged year on year. The purpose of this research was to determine the factors that have contributed to the high healthcare costs, unpack the role that Medical Aid Schemes have on costing, assess the impact of the impending National Health Insurance and finally understand if Lean methodologies are applied, how it would assist in reducing costs in the private healthcare sector. A quantitative research design was conducted using a positivism philosophy at EThekwini Hospital and Heart Centre. This cross sectional study was conducted among medical professionals and management that were selected randomly at this hospital. An online questionnaire was carried out to determine what factors contributed to the high healthcare costs at this hospital. The data was analysed using the statistical program SPSS. The research analysis yielded results that indicated that the costs of pharmaceuticals were a large contributing factor to high healthcare costs. The medical aid schemes were placing pressure on doctors in terms of diagnosis and treatment options made available. There was a resounding impression that there was little or no confidence in the NHI implementation. The target population had a fair knowledge of Lean in general but not specifically in healthcare. The recommendation is that Lean methodologies need to be discussed with relevant stakeholders at the hospital. The hospital should embark on a journey which looks at how lean can be introduced at the organization and tailor the process to ensure that it can be implemented without many challenges. The gap in research showed that there was little to no long term research on the implementation of lean at a high level at the hospital hence the concept of lean was not well received as there is little knowledge in this area.