News & Events
Dear Colleagues,
Following a recent telephonic
discussion with the Medical Advisor at Discovery Health
relating to costs of care and what optimal care is, I was
asked to write to Discovery about:
1.
Frequency of visits for children with diabetes
2.
Number of strips required for children with diabetes.
At
present, Discovery will fund 2 visits per year and 100
strips per month. Following our discussion, I got the
impression that Discovery would be amenable to 4 visits per
year and up to 150 strips per months. This was based on a
perception that this is what is offered in the state sector.
As we look ahead, this may also become an issue for
state sector patients. In December 2010, I heard people from
the Department of Health talk of moving care of all people
with diabetes to primary care. On enquiry, this would
include children with type 1 diabetes. With the advent of
NHI all patients should be able to access a uniform level of
service.
As numbers increase (certainly increasing in
Durban!), our need for resources in the future will also
come increasingly under the spotlight. Across the world,
once cuts in healthcare occur, children and women are the
one who take the biggest hit.
While there may be other
considerations to be born in mind, could I pose the
following questions to the members of PAEDS-SA.
In an
ideal environment:
1.
How frequently should children and adolescents with type 1
diabetes be seen in a clinical service?
2.
How many strips would you request for your children with
type 1 diabetes?
Under the circumstances that you
currently practice, could you please indicate:
1.
How frequently should children and adolescents with type 1
diabetes are seen in your clinical service?
2.
How many strips do you request for your children with type 1
diabetes?
3. How many
patients are seen in your service?
4.
What is the average HbAic of your patient population?
5.
Is it a state or private practice based service?
6.
Should PAEDS-SA develop guidelines with regards to the care
of children and adolescents with diabetes in South Africa?
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