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Article: Row rages over anaesthetic costs.(News)
- Article from:
- The Sunday Independent (South Africa)
- Article date:
- September 23, 2007
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Independent News & Media PLC. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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BYLINE: Edwin Naidu
Medi-Clinic, one of South Africa's big three hospital groups, will defy a call by Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, the minister of health, to stop overcharging patients for anaesthetic gases.
Roly Buys, the company's director of funder relations and contracting, told medical aid schemes and administrators that it would not purchase the anaesthetic machines that measure gases by millilitre because it was too expensive.
Instead, it would be introducing low-flow anaesthetic machines in all its theatres.
"We therefore propose that all hospitals bill gases at actual cost on a per-minute basis. An anaesthetic machine equipment ...