Primary care as a means of decreasing health care costs : research

The study was focussed at furthering the health objectives of the Government's Reconstruction and Development Programme in the area of primary 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 managed primary 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-based primary care should focus on primary prevention, for example, taking personal responsibility, weight management, sufficient exercise, discontinuing smoking habits, stress management, and secondary prevention which involves annual medicals, and a focussed approach of specific screening protocols. Die studie was gemik op die bevordering van die gesondheidsdoelwitte van die regering se Herkonstruksie en Ontwikkelingsprogram ("Reconstruction and Development Programme") op die gebied van primêre sorg. Die doel van die studie was om die moontlike vermindering van mediese skema-eise met betrekking to kardiovaskulêre siektes, deur middel van primêre sorg te ondersoek sodat mediese skema-voordele nie so gou uitgeput raak nie. 'n Kwantitatiewe benadering met behulp van 'n ondersoekende en beskrywende ontwerp is benut. 'n Opname is deur middel van 'n vraelys gedoen wat aan 250 primêre lede van die betrokke mediese skema in vier geselekteerde afdelings van die privaat maatskappy versprei is. Beperkte kliniese evaluering is daarna op die deelnemers gedoen. Gevallestudies is ook gebruik om die kostebesparings te illustreer wat met behulp van die lewering van bestuurde primêre sorg van kardiovaskulêre siektes bewerkstellig kan word. Sewe-en-twintig persent van die deelnemers het 'n geskiedenis van, of huidige tekens van kardiovaskulêre siektes getoon, terwyl