Desperate doctors hope a petition will convince the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) not to raise registration fees again, a year after a similar hike in fees from an agency they believe is breaking its mandate. The HPCSA has again increased enrollment fees, but unlike the 15% increase that only applies to the Medical and Dental Board, the new rates for this year will apply to all boards, including dieticians, psychologists, emergency responders, occupational therapists and optometrists. The registration fee published last month ranges from R531 for a medical intern to up to…
Desperate doctors hope a petition will convince the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) not to raise registration fees again, a year after a similar hike in fees from an agency they believe is breaking its mandate.
The HPCSA has again increased enrollment fees, but unlike the 15% increase that only applies to the Medical and Dental Board, the new rates for this year will apply to all boards, including dieticians, psychologists, emergency responders, occupational therapists and optometrists.
The registration fees published last month range from R531 for a medical intern to R7,446 for a medical or dental specialist.
A psychologist would have to pay R1,616 while a visiting psychology student would have to pay a registration fee of R813.
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In an online petition that has garnered more than 23,000 signatories, doctors found the increase, which rose to nearly 30% in the past two years, was unfair, especially since the HPSSA was apparently unavailable to health professionals in need, the doctors said.
Unfair and unjustifiable
Doctors found this unjust, especially during the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has left them at the forefront of fighting the outbreak.
We would also like full transparency on these annual HPSSA fees. Every cent has to be accounted for as I’m not really sure what they do for us TBH- Boitumelo Moloi (@QT_syndrome) March 2, 2022
“There is no justification for increasing registration fees again by this amount as doctors across the country struggle for weeks and months to obtain documentation from the HPSSA. Calls and emails go unanswered for weeks,” said Louie Kuhn, who started the petition.
“HPCSA services are increasingly automated and more employees are working from home. This definitely equates to a decrease in operating costs and should equate to a decrease in registration fees.”
These sentiments were shared by all the frustrated doctors, said Dr Erick Tankama, a registered public sector physician.
“As such, we haven’t really had a pay rise. In addition to the difficult times of Covid, it is actually extremely insensitive of the HPCSA to increase our registration fees annually, regardless of the economic conditions the entire country is in. In addition, their service to register practitioners is not up to scratch.”
“The question is, are they asking us these exorbitant sums of money just to take care of their bureaucracy, or to do us a favor as registered practitioners?” asked Tankama.
A psychologist from Pretoria, Dr Helena Niedinger, said she was unsubscribed by the HPSSA for an outstanding fee of R200, which she was not aware of.
“The HPSSA doesn’t even send us invoices anymore and I had no idea I was unsubscribed. Then I was told that my practice is operating illegally because I no longer have a permit. I hired a lawyer and after trying to take legal action against them, the council decided that I just had to pay my R200 to get re-registered. I know people who have been unsubscribed because they were only owed R100,” she told The The Vanir-exodus†
What exactly do doctors pay for?
The fees charged by the HSPCA are intended to help cover administrative costs and resolve any medical disputes doctors may face, said former president of the South African Medical Association Dr Angelique Coetzee.
“These fees are used for the day-to-day administration and operation of the HPSSA – so they are administrative costs. But the biggest expenses were administration and professional conduct – a large part of the money went to medical procedures against medical professional conduct,” said Coetzee.
But it appears that medical professionals have now lost faith in the HPCSA, despite having meetings with the board in October last year to discuss the exorbitant fees.
We are tired of paying @HPCSA_ an annual fee when our basic needs are not met. Unless I’m mixing things up, but it’s an increase of almost 30% in 2 years.
I hope this petition gets things started! https://t.co/oMSLJlkiUR— DrMusa (@DrMusaMthombeni) March 2, 2022
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Like pharmacists and nurses, who have their own independent councils, Coetzee says the same should be true for medical and dental councils.
What doctors expect from the HPSSA is transparency and immediate feedback.
“As a physician, I expect the HPCSA to have no backlog in medical negligence or lawsuits filed by physicians and patients. I want the lawsuit to be completed on time. I want transparency and openness about what my money is used for. I want to know that if I call the HPCSA with a question about my issues, which I paid for, there will be immediate feedback,” she said.
The HPCSA said it is aware of the concerns raised by physicians regarding annual reimbursements and is currently engaging relevant stakeholders to ensure a common understanding of the processes followed and key contributions to determining of annual fees.
“We remain committed to continued stakeholder engagement with all relevant and concerned parties on this matter. The Council is further committed to the Medical and Dental Professions Council and its practitioners and will continue to focus on strategies that improve service delivery, improve efficiency, reduce costs in the interests of the Council’s survival and of its mandate to protect the public and guide the professions,” said HPSSA President Professor Simon Nemutandani.