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Did you know that there are various approved medical aid scheme rates depending on the medical aid scheme of your patients?  This can be used as a benchmark in determining at which pricing point to cost your services for medical aid patients and can also give you an indication of the going rate for services for cash patients.

Benefits of Being Contracted into Medical Aid as a Healthcare Practitioner in Private Practice

There are numerous benefits to being contracted in with various medical aid schemes, especially in the current economic climate where your patients and potential patients may need therapy but cannot afford these services out of their own funds.  

Patients who do have medical aid tend to first seek out therapists that are contracted to their medical aid, to avoid having to pay large sums of money upfront and then struggling to claim it back on their own as they are not adequately informed or prefer not going through the hassle of trying to figure out the process on their own.

Prescribed Minimum Benefits and Extended Benefits for Medical Aid Claims

Another benefit for the patients is that some conditions may even be covered as part of the prescribed minimum benefits (PMB’s) of the medical aid, which would then assist in not delving too deep into the savings portion of their medical funds.

What many practitioners and patients do not realise, is that even when these PMB’s are depleted, a request can be sent to the medical aid to evaluate and possibly extend these benefits on a case-by-case basis.  These extended benefits can make a tremendous impact on the quality of prolonged treatment and the patient experience, especially when they do not have the funds to continue with therapy out of their own accord.

Where Can You Find the Current Medical Aid Rates?

The medical aid tariffs can be requested from the medical schemes individually, on the assumption that you have an active BHF practice number and that the rates pertain to your area of expertise.  Even though these rates normally only change once a year, it can still be quite a large administrative task to obtain these rates from the more than 80 different schemes, which service more than 8.87 million individuals across the country.

Reasons You Would Consider Using a Billing Service Company like KITRIN?

As a company specialising in provision of medical billing software and managed medical and allied health practice management services, we pride ourselves on taking this hassle away from the practitioner, by ensuring that we continuously stay abreast of any changes in the industry and also ensure that we have these medical aid approved rates pre-programmed for easy use on our software.

Since we believe in the value-add this information can add to practitioners, we are also willing to provide the rates to any practitioner that might need it in their own practice and who needs to benchmark their pricing against industry-wide approved rates.

Should you wish to find out more about our value-added service offering or just want to check and request a copy of the rates applicable to your specific industry, you are more than welcome to contact us via our website www.kitrin.com or send an email to [email protected]

Social media is becoming one of the most prevalent mediums for networking, marketing and keeping up-to-date in today’s healthcare industry with 31% of healthcare professionals using social media for the purpose of professional networking.

Word of mouth ranks as one of the best and most cost-effective ways for a practice to attract new patients. Social media provides a platform to establish a brand identity for a practice that current and potential future patients can begin to notice, recognise, and trust. A strong social media presence is beneficial when trying to attract new patients by building a reputation through word of mouth.

With an ever-increasing number of healthcare professionals making use of social media, it is important to take note of the other benefits that social media provides. 

Growing a Professional Network as a Healthcare Practitioner in Private Practice

Many healthcare professionals are starting to use social media as a tool to share information, debate healthcare policies and practice issues, engage with the general public to educate them and to develop a professional network.

Growing a professional network through social media is not only beneficial from a business perspective, but also enables interaction amongst colleagues on an open forum which can improve health outcomes, increase awareness of news and discoveries, consult colleagues regarding patient issues and seek out colleagues to enhance patient care via a multidisciplinary treatment approach.

This helps emphasize the many applications and benefits of social media, one of which being professional development for healthcare workers on networks like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Valuable Source of Information for Healthcare Practitioners in Private Practice

The majority of practitioners are passive participants since they aren’t creating or commenting on content, preferring to read and observe the conversations of others in their network, obtaining valuable information through the observation of how others in their field of interest are working, which may benefit them in the running of their private practice.

This is especially applicable with regards to practitioners new to private practice, gleaning valuable advice on practice management in their area from both more experienced practitioners and companies specializing in practice management. It also opens an avenue where they are also able to learn from other practitioners – in terms of client referrals and insight into alternate techniques in patient care.

The Benefits of Using Social Media as a Healthcare Practitioner in Private Practice

There are also benefits for more experienced practitioners on social media, keeping up to date with newer methods in patient care, and as before, networking with other professionals in their area for more wholistic patient treatment when the need arises.

More than 40% of potential patients say that information they find on social media has an impact on the way they deal with their health, so healthcare practitioners need to ensure that any information that is being shared on their behalf is accurate and informative. Other’s opinions on healthcare on social media are often trusted, but can be misleading, it is important that healthcare practitioners provide credible content.

Should a practitioner outsource the management of their social media to a third party, it is crucial that social media guidelines are stipulated in writing. This ensures that staff operate from a guideline and it implements a systematic strategy from which your social media is run across all platforms, and outlines the outcomes you wish to achieve.

Social media is an invaluable tool to healthcare practitioners, and when managed well, is an excellent contributor to the growth of a practice.

If you would like to get a demo of how social media can be used for healthcare practitioners in private practice, contact us using the details below.