Sangomas want patients to use medical aid

TRADITIONAL medical practitioners (inyangas) have called on government to put in place a policy which will see medical aid societies accepting claims from patients who seek their services.

The traditional healers also want government to expedite the issue of giving them authority to grant sick leave to their patients.

Joyce Tumbare, a board member of the Traditional Medical Practitioners Council, which represents the interests of traditional and faith healers, said due to the harsh economic environment prevailing, most patients who approach them do not have cash up front to pay for their services yet some will be on medical aid. She said traditional medical practitioners should be allowed to forward their claims to medical aid societies to get payment for their services.

"Our plea to government is to put in place a law which will see us taking our claims to medical aid societies so that we can be paid for providing services. There are quite a number of patients who consult us but do not have ready cash because of the current economic environment. These patients will be on medical aid.

"It is therefore prudent for us to accept these and then forward claims to our patients' medical aid societies," said Tumbare.

The director of traditional medicine in the Ministry of Health and Child Care, Onias Ndoro, said the onus was on the traditional medical practitioners' body to come up with guidelines and instruments which will be used by medical aid societies.

Ndoro said: "The ball is in their court to come up with proper guidelines and instruments which will then be used in the medical insurance industry. It will be very difficult for their request to be implemented if they do not come up with guidelines and uniform tariffs to be used.

"So the Traditional Medical Practitioners Council should develop and come up with tariffs and regulations which will ensure that there is no abuse of such kind of a system. At the moment it is difficult to implement what they are asking for because the traditional medical practitioners charge different rates for the same procedure while those in the medical field have gazetted consultation rates."

Ndoro said traditional and faith healers could soon be granting off days to patients as government is at an advanced stage of finalising the crafting of the policy which will see the healers prescribing off days.

He, however, warned traditional medical practitioners against abusing the facility.