One thing that has surprised us this visit is the number of patients registered with the Kisiizi Health Insurance scheme - a staggering figure of more than 37,000! This makes us the largest scheme in the country by a big margin and either the largest or second largest in East Africa apparently...
Patients join in various sized groups, paying a premium that is remarkably low by western standards - equivalent to only about £4 a year! The advantage is not only financial to the patient if they become ill but also means people are much more likely to present promptly with symptoms rather than procrastinating or buying a few tablets from a market or going to a traditional healer where interventions may be damaging in some cases...
From the hospital point of view it is a benefit that these patients are sure to pay their bills as the Scheme reimburses Kisiizi for its treatment.
So now we hope to utilise the scheme more for health prevention teaching and we are awaiting the outcome of a new bid for support for a 30 month community programme to improve mother and child health particularly.
Patients join in various sized groups, paying a premium that is remarkably low by western standards - equivalent to only about £4 a year! The advantage is not only financial to the patient if they become ill but also means people are much more likely to present promptly with symptoms rather than procrastinating or buying a few tablets from a market or going to a traditional healer where interventions may be damaging in some cases...
From the hospital point of view it is a benefit that these patients are sure to pay their bills as the Scheme reimburses Kisiizi for its treatment.
So now we hope to utilise the scheme more for health prevention teaching and we are awaiting the outcome of a new bid for support for a 30 month community programme to improve mother and child health particularly.
This makes us the largest scheme in the country by a big margin Autoclave and either the largest or second largest in East Africa apparently...
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