News - SAPAESA

14 Jun , 2017

Is an Ambulance Service Required to Register as a Credit Provider?

credit, National Credit Regulator, NCR Best Practice, South African News

According to the National Credit Regulator (NCR), an entity is only considered to be a credit provider in terms of the National Credit Act if it is any of the following: (a) the party who supplies goods or services un...

14 Jun , 2017

Use of Point of Sale Terminals by Ambulance Services

Monika Vermeulen

Point of sale, POS Best Practice

A point of sale terminal is an electronic device used to process card payments from a customer to a provider. The point of sale terminal is typically used to process payments made with either a credit or debit card. Th...

13 Apr , 2017

The necessity of onboard heating and cooling systems in an ambulance

Monika Vermeulen

patient care, temperature controll Best Practice

The necessity of onboard heating and cooling systems in an ambulance Private ambulance services in South Africa are not only expected to offer quality clinical care to patients, they are expected to offer such care i...

13 Apr , 2017

Medical insurance policies vs medical aid schemes

Monika Vermeulen

Best Practice, Medical Aids

What is a medical insurance policy, and how does it compare to a medical aid scheme? Medical aid schemes are governed by the Medical Schemes Act and the Council for Medical Schemes. These schemes are required to comp...

2 Mar , 2017

Paying commission for patient recommendations

Monika Vermeulen

ethics, Health Professions Council of South Africa, recommend patients Best Practice, Medical Aids

Paying another person, either directly or indirectly, in order to recommend patients to your healthcare practice or ambulance service, is in direct contradiction with the Guidelines for Good Practice in the Healthcare P...

2 Mar , 2017

Managing cash flow in a hostile administrative environment

Monika Vermeulen

cash flow, Medical Aid Funds, medical schemes Best Practice

There can be no doubt that the administration of the claims of one ambulance private ambulance service by a competing private ambulance is potentially anti-competitive. However, in the absence of intervention by auth...

3 Feb , 2017

Effective internal training

Monika Vermeulen

skills development, training Best Practice

The need for an effective internal training program with an ongoing staff evaluation process cannot be emphasised enough. As healthcare practices that are regularly servicing a medical aid and private patient market,...

31 Jan , 2017

Draft Clinical Practice Guidelines

Monika Vermeulen

Clinical Practice Guidelines, CPG, Short Course Press Release, South African News

England has 23 519 registered paramedics, servicing a population of 65 111 143. That is one paramedic per 2 768 members of the English population. In 2011, the USA had 229 454 paramedics servicing a population of 31...

29 Dec , 2016

2016: A year in review

Monika Vermeulen

2016, review Best Practice, Press Release, South African News

2016 has been a difficult year for the South African economy. The value of the Rand has been extremely volatile and the has drifted between anything from R18.90 per US Dollar to R13.20 per US Dollar. Those fluctuatio...

29 Dec , 2016

Negotiating a sustainable tariff for your ambulance service

Monika Vermeulen

Medical Aid Funds, medical schemes, sustainable tariff Best Practice, Medical Aids

It needs to be emphasised private ambulance service owners or managers remain responsible for the final negotiation and acceptance of tariffs for the coming year. While many medical aid scheme representatives may rel...