Key Hospital Purchasing and Reimbursement in the Medical Devices Market in South Africa

Frost & Sullivan, January 2008, Pages: 150

Public-private Partnerships to Promote Improved Healthcare

Public and private hospitals in South Africa use complex purchasing and reimbursement systems for medical devices. In some cases, the selection and procurement processes may present challenges to suppliers of medical devices. It is, therefore, essential for companies wishing to place their products on the market to arrive at a clear understanding of the current situation and upcoming developments. The healthcare system in South Africa consists of both a large public sector that suffers from poor infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, and a smaller, but highly sophisticated and fast-growing private sector that can be equated with developed western countries.

"The Government is encouraging public-private sector cooperation to make healthcare more accessible to all and, at the same time, raise the standards of the services provided," notes the analyst of this research. "The key healthcare focus lies in the equitable distribution of healthcare facilities and the lowering of pharmaceutical drug prices." South Africa is experiencing significant economic growth due to an inherently stable financial leadership, sound macro-economic principles and infrastructure development. In an effort to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the government is expanding healthcare delivery systems through increased finance and participation of private sector entities. As populations get easier access to information on healthcare options, there is an increase in demand for specialised healthcare services that require high-end technologies. The market will also be affected by draft regulations for the registration and control of medical devices that are expected to come into effect by 2008-2009.

Training and Sales Force Development Crucial for Market Penetration

A shortage of nursing staff especially limits public hospital sector growth. The AIDS pandemic in South Africa is straining public sector hospitals that already suffer from poor infrastructure. Moreover, with high poverty rates and poor economic distribution of wealth in the past, significant hurdles exist for the development of efficient and up-to-date healthcare infrastructures in the public sector. Another challenge relates to frequently contentious award of tenders and selection of suppliers, especially for public hospitals. Besides, bureaucracy and the lack of autonomy in the procurement processes in public sector hospitals cause delays in the award of tenders.

The inherent shortage of skilled healthcare professionals is hampering demand for high-end products. Development and expansion are needed in order to meet the demand presented by the high prevalence rate of diseases such as AIDS. The intense level of competition in the market requires the presence of a good sales force. This is crucial to ensure widespread product knowledge and thereby stimulate market penetration. Training and development of the sales force thus need to become an integral component of an organisation’s market strategy.

This Frost & Sullivan research service titled Key Hospital Purchasing and Reimbursement in the Medical Devices Market in South Africa provides complete analysis of the macro-environment for the market, an in-depth analysis of the structures and procedures for purchasing and reimbursement and opportunities in the medical devices market in South Africa. In this research, Frost & Sullivan's expert analysts thoroughly examine the following markets: public sector hospitals and private sector hospitals.

This analysis is available through our Medical Devices Growth Partnership Services programme. With this programme, clients receive industry-leading market research such as this, along with technical and econometric data and many interactive features including Analyst Inquiry Time and Client Councils

1. Key Hospital Purchasing and Reimbursement in the Medical Devices Market in South Africa
-Executive Summary
-Research Objectives, Scope and Methodology
-Research Summary
-Hospital Purchasing and Reimbursement for Medical Devices
-List of Key Industry Participants-Decision Support Databases

List of Figures
-Demographics and healthcare data for South Africa in 2006
-Leading causes of death in South Africa in 2002
-Hospitals by province in South Africa in 2006
-Hospital beds by province in South Africa in 2006
-Market share of hospitals and beds by private hospital group in South Africa in 2006
-Market share of acute beds by private hospital group in South Africa from 1996 to 2006
-Medical scheme beneficiary numbers in South Africa from 1994 to 2006
-Medical scheme beneficiary numbers in South Africa from 2006 to 2012
-Medical scheme medical device benefits in South Africa from 2000 to 2006
-Medical scheme benefit spend in South Africa from 2000 to 2006
-Total hospital revitalisation expenditure in South Africa from 2002 to 2010
-Hospital attendance in South Africa in 2005
-Medical devices market size in South Africa from 2006 to 2012

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