PERCEPTIONS OF THE CONTRIBUTION OF MEDICAL MALPRACTICE LITIGATION TO HEALTHCARE COSTS IN SOUTH AFRICA
Date
2014-07-22
Authors
MABANDLA, NIKELO
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Abstract
ABSTRACT
South Africa spends 9% of its GDP on healthcare, amongst the highest in the world apart from the USA. Concurrently, a substantial increase in the number of reported cases of medical malpractice litigation and an unequal access to services continues to feature in the lives of its populace.
While some of the drivers of healthcare costs have been studied, the relationship between medical malpractice litigation and healthcare costs is not clearly understood or explained. As such its impact on costs and consequences for healthcare provision remains of particular interest to academics, healthcare economists, policy makers and managers.
This qualitative research was conducted to establish the contribution of medical malpractice litigation to the cost of private healthcare in South Africa. It constituted a survey on 75 medical practitioners in private practice as well as unstructured interviews with representatives from the South African Medical Association (SAMA), malpractice insurance provider, Medical Protection Society (MPS) and the statutory regulatory body for healthcare professionals, the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA).
The data obtained was analysed according to order of mention using descriptive and inferential statistics to identify important outcomes. Content and thematic analysis provided further collateral validation of the results.
The research findings indicate that medical litigation is significant in South Africa and does contribute to the escalating cost of healthcare, albeit to a lesser extent than medical aids, burden of disease and skills shortage. Furthermore litigation has an impact on the general practice and access to healthcare. These findings demonstrate the need to find ways to minimise litigation through corroborative initiatives with the public, to effectively manage the related cases through a dedicated judicial system and to lessen its impact on general healthcare costs by introducing cost capping mechanisms
Description
MBA Thesis 2013
Keywords
Medical care, Cost of -- South Africa., Physicians -- Malpractice -- South Africa, Medical laws and legislation -- South Africa.