Be the EMS leader, not the EMS follower
As community based services, independent private ambulance services are known for their personal touch and excellent levels of customer service. However, in an industry that has become increasingly competitive and even saturated in certain regions, excellent customer service is no longer enough to stay ahead. As business owners and operators, we all need to pause […]
Social media and patient confidentiality
Social media as we know it today was born in 2004 with the launch of Facebook, closely followed by Twitter in 2006. Since the late 2000s we have seen substantial growth in the utilisation of platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram for marketing purposes. As EMS practitioners and business owners, we need to […]
Designated Service Provider Networks for EMS
According to the Medical Schemes Act, 1998, Regulations, Chapter 3: Contributions and Benefits, 7: Definitions, a Designated Service Provider is defined as: “…a health care provider or group of providers selected by the medical scheme concerned as the preferred provider or providers to provide to its members diagnosis, treatment and care in respect of one […]
Is a bakkie appropriate for use as a private ambulance?
‘Bakkie’ is the common South African term for a light delivery vehicle with an enclosed cab and an open load area at the rear of the vehicle. A number of bakkies have been used by the Provincial Emergency Medical Services as ambulances in rural areas where the road network is limited or poorly maintained. In […]
Use of Point of Sale Terminals by Ambulance Services
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. These terminals are becoming more readily available to small business owners, and are increasingly mobile, compact, […]
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 in an environment that is clean, comfortable, well-maintained, and presentable. An aspect of this equation that is often overlooked is the ability to provide both heating and cooling in the passenger […]
Prescribed Minimum Benefits: What you need to know
The Prescribed Minimum Benefits (PMB) are a list of 270 medical conditions that medical schemes are always liable to provide cover for, in order to ensure that scheme members are guaranteed a minimum level of cover – regardless of the scheme option they have chosen. Schemes must pay for the treatment of PMB conditions in […]
Paying commission for patient recommendations
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 Professions. Booklet 5, ‘Guidelines on Over Servicing, Perverse Incentives and Related Matters’, is clear regarding the expectations of conduct for healthcare professionals in […]
Overservicing patients
The Health Professions Council of South Africa’s guidelines on overservicing, perverse incentives, and related matters, or Booklet 5, states: “Health care practitioners shall not provide a service or perform or direct certain procedures to be performed on a patient that are neither indicated nor scientific or have been shown to be ineffective, harmful or inappropriate […]
Medical insurance policies vs medical aid schemes
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 comply with a strict set of rules and regulations, and guidelines have been put in place to ensure […]
Lodging a complaint with the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS)
Did you know that if a medical aid fund, or an administrator acting on behalf of a medical aid fund with regards to the administration and payment of ambulance claims, has not paid your claim promptly and in full, that you are entitled to lodge a complaint with the Council for Medical Schemes? The Council […]
Keep yourself and your ambulance service off the stretcher
Adequate insurance cover is a backbone for the ambulance industry. Without it, the smallest mishaps can completely cripple some very promising operations. With that in mind, SAPAESA and our broker partners are excited to be able to offer a comprehensive business insurance package, specifically tailored to the ambulance industry while still being affordable. The types […]
Effective internal training
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, it is essential that all staff members, from paramedics to call centre staff and administration staff take careful note of the fact that […]
Brand versus brand
Running into a burning building to pull unconscious people out is arguably a daunting idea for trained and equipped firefighters, never mind for regular medics. But apparently that terrifying challenge is no match for medics whose service is run by people with a surname that is the Afrikaans word for fire, as we were shown […]
Ambulance infection control: Understanding And applying it
Firstly, let’s clarify what the difference is between cleaning, sterilisation and disinfection. Cleaning involves merely removing soil from a surface. This usually includes the use of water and detergents. Sterilisation involves destroying all microbial life on a surface, and usually occurs separately after cleaning. The use of chemicals, pressurised steam, dry heat, and hydrogen peroxide […]