The Sunday Mail
Debra Matabvu
Some medical aid societies are reportedly visiting patients in hospital and tracking their treatment to “avert expensive and superfluous” healthcare. This breach of doctor-patient confidentiality is part of a long-standing fight between health insurers and medical service providers over various treatment fees.
The Medical and Dental Practitioners’ Council of Zimbabwe is investigating the matter with possible penalties for offenders.
The Association of Healthcare Funders of Zimbabwe did not respond to our written questions last week, but once complained that some doctors were “unnecessarily” ordering procedures such as laboratory tests, x-rays and scans to deliberately milk medical aid societies.
MDPCZ registrar Mrs Josephine Mwakutuya told The Sunday Mail, “Medical aid societies have demanded referral letters for patients referred for specialist care as well as access to patients admitted in hospitals in order to monitor treatment with a view to evaluating costs of patient care. “That is a strongly prohibited act as it violates patients’ constitutional right not to have their health conditions disclosed (to anyone other than their doctor). “Because of this, registered doctors have refused to provide the referral letters as this is deemed unethical. Council has also discouraged medical aid societies from visiting admitted patients.”
Zimbabwe Medical Association secretary-general Dr Shingai Bopoto said: “Yes, (medical aid societies) have written to some doctors advising them that they would be visiting patients, but this is illegal and unprofessional.
“We, the medical council, are putting it on record that if a general practitioner refers a patient to a specialist, the information contained in that letter is confidential and no other party must be privy to those details or information. Visiting patients in hospitals is straight-forward illegal because every patient’s treatment is confidential. “There are incidents when medical insurers that employ doctors and in liaison with the treating doctor, with the explicit permission of the patient, can inquire on one or two issues or notify the admitted patient that his/her benefits are about to run out. In any case, we are still trying to agree on a tariff with medical insurers.”
The doctor/health insurers dispute has run for more than two years, with the former accusing the latter of not paying for services rendered.
Afhoz, on the other hand, argues that medical aid subscribers are fast depleting their cover “because of unnecessary procedures that doctors order”. The Health and Child Care Ministry is creating a regulatory board to superintend the medical insurance sector.
