Perceived quality of primary healthcare post-National Health Insurance pilot implementation.

outpatient department primary healthcare self-referral rate universal health coverage

Journal

Health SA = SA Gesondheid
ISSN: 2071-9736
Titre abrégé: Health SA
Pays: South Africa
ID NLM: 101213385

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
2021
Historique:
received: 28 11 2020
accepted: 02 04 2021
entrez: 30 6 2021
pubmed: 1 7 2021
medline: 1 7 2021
Statut: epublish

Résumé

Contracting private medical practitioners for the National Health Insurance pilot project in 2012 by the National Department of Health in South Africa was envisaged to reduce workload at referral district hospitals by reducing self-referral by clients as the perceived quality of care at the primary healthcare level improves. To describe the effect of contracting private medical practitioners at primary healthcare facilities on the self-referral rate of clients at district hospitals as a proxy for perceived quality of care in a National Health Insurance pilot district. The study was set in Tshwane National Health Insurance pilot district compared to Ekurhuleni district. We compared findings before and after implementing the National Health Insurance private medical practitioners contracting between a pilot and a non-pilot district. A quasi-experimental ecological study design was used to compare district hospital outpatient department indicators of clients follow-up, self-referral, self-referral rate and referred in the two districts from June 2012 to May 2014 using single and controlled interrupted time-series analyses. Controlled interrupted time series analysis found decreases in self-referral rate (-1.8 [-2.2, -1.1] [ We concluded that the implementation of contracting private medical practitioners in primary healthcare facilities might have resulted in an improved perceived quality of care at primary health care facilities. However, the higher number of outpatient department headcounts for follow-up and the increase in referred cases in the pilot district would need to be investigated.

Sections du résumé

BACKGROUND BACKGROUND
Contracting private medical practitioners for the National Health Insurance pilot project in 2012 by the National Department of Health in South Africa was envisaged to reduce workload at referral district hospitals by reducing self-referral by clients as the perceived quality of care at the primary healthcare level improves.
AIM OBJECTIVE
To describe the effect of contracting private medical practitioners at primary healthcare facilities on the self-referral rate of clients at district hospitals as a proxy for perceived quality of care in a National Health Insurance pilot district.
SETTING METHODS
The study was set in Tshwane National Health Insurance pilot district compared to Ekurhuleni district.
METHODS METHODS
We compared findings before and after implementing the National Health Insurance private medical practitioners contracting between a pilot and a non-pilot district. A quasi-experimental ecological study design was used to compare district hospital outpatient department indicators of clients follow-up, self-referral, self-referral rate and referred in the two districts from June 2012 to May 2014 using single and controlled interrupted time-series analyses.
RESULTS RESULTS
Controlled interrupted time series analysis found decreases in self-referral rate (-1.8 [-2.2, -1.1] [
CONCLUSION CONCLUSIONS
We concluded that the implementation of contracting private medical practitioners in primary healthcare facilities might have resulted in an improved perceived quality of care at primary health care facilities. However, the higher number of outpatient department headcounts for follow-up and the increase in referred cases in the pilot district would need to be investigated.

Identifiants

pubmed: 34192067
doi: 10.4102/hsag.v26i0.1580
pii: HSAG-26-1580
pmc: PMC8182563
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Pagination

1580

Informations de copyright

© 2021. The Authors.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

The authors declare that they have no financial or personal relationships that may have inappropriately influenced them in writing this article.

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Auteurs

Hillary Mukudu (H)

School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Kennedy Otwombe (K)

School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Perinatal HIV Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Caiphus Moloto (C)

Health Directorate, Health Information Management, Department of Health, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Adam Fusheini (A)

Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Otago Medical School, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.

Jude Igumbor (J)

School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

Classifications MeSH