/ 23 December 2011

Healing takes more than just medicine

Healing Takes More Than Just Medicine

Healthcare has always been and always will be a highly emotive matter. Dealing with the sick takes empathy, sensitivity, tact, understanding and compassion. In other words: it requires a good bedside manner. This is a quality that is always associated with a great family doctor; the kind of practitioner who makes you feel relaxed so that the communication flows freely and easily. That way the good doctor will always garner more information about your condition than his or her more abrupt, impatient colleagues.

Studies have indicated that healthcare professionals who approach a patient with little or no empathy can cause that patient to perceive more pain. A doctor or nurse who facilitates positive thinking can help a patient to make a quicker recovery. In fact, a good bedside manner has been shown to make patients more compliant in following the doctor’s instructions.

Other studies have indicated that incivility on the side of the doctor can have disastrous repercussions. In one study that investigated doctors’ prescriptions at hospital pharmacies in the United States, researchers found that 75% of nurses and pharmacists were reluctant to challenge a “difficult doctor” regarding queries about potential errors in the prescriptions he or she had written.

This is why medical schools worldwide not only recognise the positive influence of a good bedside manner, but also teach medical and nursing students how to communicate and interact with patients with more empathy and compassion. But what about other aspects of the healthcare industry? Especially private healthcare, which serves more than 8.1-million South Africans.

The cut and thrust of the business world has always relied on aggression and ruthlessness. But is there room for compassion, empathy and sensitivity that still makes business sense? Much of Bonitas’s approach stems from a major differentiator the fund has over the majority of large open medical aids: Bonitas has more women in senior positions. In fact, 55% of the fund’s senior management team is made up of women and the Bonitas head office boasts a ratio of more than two females to every male.

As Peta Smuts, the acting chief executive of Bonitas Marketing, said: “Of course there are many exceptional and talented men in this business. But in my experience, women just do it instinctively; they are natural carers. “Bonitas isn’t just for the elite in society. Our membership base matches the demographics of this country more than any other open scheme. Because of that we care for some of the more vulnerable, voiceless people. And we make sure they still get quality healthcare and real value for their money. This is part of what we do at Bonitas,” Smuts said.

It is a policy that is paying off for Bonitas. Not only has the fund weathered the financial storms that have seen 34 medical aids cease to exist since 2010, it is arguably the most stable of all the open schemes. “Financially, we’re extremely healthy, said Smuts. “We have the highest solvency ratio — 36.5% — of any of the big competitors. We also have the youngest member age profile of any of the big open schemes. And at the end of the day it comes down to the level of service you provide for your members and beneficiaries.”

This caring attitude, call it the bedside manner, has helped make Bonitas one of the strongest and most successful funds in the country and the second-largest open medical fund in South Africa.

This article originally appeared in the Mail & Guardian newspaper as a sponsored feature