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Primary care as a means of decreasing health care costs
Abstract
The study was focussedat furthering the health objectives of the Government\'s Reconstruction and Development Programme in the area ofprimary care. The purpose of the study was to examine the possible reduction of medical scheme claims for cardiovascular disease by means of primary care, so that medical scheme benefits do not
become exhausted so rapidly. A quantitative approach, using an explorative and descriptive design was used. A survey was done by means of a questionnaire which was distributed to 250 principle members of the medical scheme in four selected divisions of a private organisation. Thereafter, a limited clinical assessment was done on the participants. In addition, case studies were used to illustrate the cost savings that could be obtained by the
delivery of managedprimary care of cardiovascular (CVD) conditions. Twenty-seven percent of the participants had current, or a history of cardio-related conditions, and 32.15 percent of the participants were identified as having an overall high risk for CVD. Contributing circumstances aggravating these conditions were lifestyle-related issues.
Nurse-basedprimary care should focus on primary prevention, for example, taking personal responsibilitx weight management, sufficient exercise, discontinuing smoking habits, stress management, and secondary prevention which involves annual medicals, and a focussed approach of specific screening protocols.
Keywords: Primary health care; primary care; managed health care; medical scheme; cardiovascular disease,
early detection
Health SA Gesondheid Vol. 9 (4) 2004: pp. 64-76
