In October, the QuadPara Association of South Africa (QASA) hosted the second My Bladder, My Rights webinar to educate its members on the dos and don’ts of bladder management as well as the right of a patient to have all their catheters covered fully by their medical aid.
The webinar was specifically tailored to people who use intermittent catheterisation with the core message urging patients to switch to single-use catheters. Dr Virginia Wilson, a member of the Clinical Advisory Panel (CAP) which published a paper on bladder management, discussed the scientific findings that points to single-use catheters leading to fewer infections.
In one of her own cases, a patient had “an average of three to four infections per year.” She noted: “For people with disabilities, this number of infections impacts on their quality of life, job and more.” Since the switch to single-use catheters, her patients experienced significantly fewer infections if any.
This was backed by the testimonies of people who have made the switch and experienced a different. Professional sports person, Alwyn Uys, spoke at the webinar of the convenience that single-use catheters offer.
“I play sports professionally and travel a lot. Hygiene is a challenge when travelling and I used to get very sick with urinary tract infections (UTIs),” he said. When he learned about single-use catheters, he made the switch.
“Soon I moved over and immediately saw an improvement. Once you have lived with that improved quality of life, you won’t go back,” Alwyn added.
Moderator of the webinar and former QASA CEO, Ari Seirlis, also spoke about his experience as a single-use catheter user who has been infection-free for the past 12 years.
While single-use catheters are more hygienic, it can also be a costly affair – especially when the burden falls to the user. Regardless of what medical aids might claim, health lawyer Elsabé Klinck explained that catheters should be covered in full by the medical aid with no co-payment as it is considered a prescribed minimum benefit (PMB).
PMBs define the minimum health services to which all medical aid members should be entitled. This includes the appropriate medication or devices needed for the individual’s care. Doctors need to avoid harm when treating patients. The possibility that a patient might experience harm (for example UTIs) because of the catheters they use, is enough to motivate the switch to single-use catheters that the medical aid then needs to fund. The evidence found in the research published by CAP can be used to motivate single-use catheters to the medical aid.
While it might seem daunting to go head-to-head with a medical aid, others have been successful in their own battles. Alwyn shared: “It took a while, but I won the battle and [my medical aid] had to fund everything. What I learned is that you need to persist.”
For QASA members who are thinking of, or already battling with their medical aid, Ari urged them to reach out: “We will pick up your queries. QASA is behind you all of the way.”
You can contact QASA at info@qasa.co.za or phone 031 767 0352. To reach more about the CAP research study, click here.
