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RE: Completion of SAMA Practice Cost Study Surveys
Dear Doctor,
By now you would have received various communications that the South African Medical Association (SAMA) has commissioned HealthMan, PPO Serve and Medical Practice Consulting (MPC) (“the consortium”) to conduct an independent Practice Cost Study on General Practitioners and Specialists in private practice.
Please complete all 3 surveys below. This includes:
A) Scope of Practice Survey,
B) Financial Survey and
C) Salary Survey. Instructions are below.
We will update you on a regular basis of progress and responses received. Any queries can be sent to surveys@healthman.co.za and any personal questions can also be sent to casperv@healthman.co.za.
Please note that Radiology, Pathology and Nuclear Medicine are not participating in the Practice Cost Studies.
A. High Level Scope of Practice Survey
This survey helps to identify the type of practices that will be participating in the study and gives high level demographic, practice and certain financial details. Please note that there are separate surveys for Specialists and General Practitioners. You can complete the survey in one of three ways:
OPTION 1 - Online Version (PREFERRED OPTION)
The online Scope of Practice survey tool is housed at MPC. It will take no longer than 10 minutes to complete and is totally on-line and electronic. If you are not already registered on the MPC database, you will be required to provide certain practice details for identification and verification purposes.
OPTION 2 - Excel Version
This format of the survey has been done in Excel format and is also submitted electronically by merely clicking on the email button at the top of the survey. It will automatically be sent to surveys@healthman.co.za. This option has the advantage that you can print, save and review your survey and even resubmit it if there are any errors or changes to be made. Please note that certain Excel problems could cause distortions on the questionnaire. If you experience these distortions it will be better to complete the online version.
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• Double click to OPEN
• Upon opening you will be prompted, click ENABLE EDITING on prompt
• Then click on the next prompt ENABLE CONTENT
• You are now ready to start
• Please complete all fields - you will notice that the questions change to green once answered
• Upon completion, click on the email button and it will email direct to surveys@healthman.co.za. If you receive a Microsoft Excel Compatibility Checker prompt, click on continue.
• You can save the survey on your desk top by clicking on the save button.
OPTION 3 – Paper Version
You can use the Excel version above to print out and complete manually. The completed survey must be scanned and email to surveys@healthman.co.za or can be faxed to 011 782 0270 (HealthMan fax).
B. Financial Survey
This second survey is the most important. It relates to the core purpose of this Practice Cost Study, ie. financial information. You can complete the survey in one of two ways:
OPTION 1 – Submit Financial Statements (PREFERRED OPTION)
The easiest and fastest option is to send your latest annual financial statements directly to us either by email to surveys@healthman.co.za or via fax on 011 782 0270. If you wish to do so, you can blank out the turnover/revenue and profit sections in your Financial Statements. Alternatively you can send your Detailed Income Statement page of your Financial Statements to us – this is usually a one pager.
OPTION 2 – Complete Financial Survey on Excel
Only an Excel version is available in this option. The full two-page summary of your practice expenses must be completed. The survey can be completed in Excel and emailed to surveys@healthman.co.za, or printed out and completed manually, and then scanned and emailed to surveys@healthman.co.za or faxed to 011 782 0270 (HealthMan fax).
Please ensure that your Practice Name is on all documents that you send to us as we are doing the surveys per discipline and per region. We also need to be able to contact practices if we have any aspects to follow up. Please note that the consortium will keep this financial data completely confidential. All financial data is aggregated to determine the cost of running a practice for various disciplines and will be destroyed 6 months after completion of the project.
C. Salary Survey
The purpose of the Salary Survey is to determine the types of staff you have in your practice and the associated costs thereof. Salaries are often the biggest cost in many practices and we will require more information on this expense item. We will continue to update this survey every 2 years and publish the results thereof. Many practitioners make use of it in their annual salary reviews or when appointing new staff.
You can complete the survey in one of two ways:
OPTION 1 - Online Version (PREFERRED OPTION)
There is an online Salary Survey on the MPC website. Accessible the same way as the Practice Cost Study.
OPTION 2 – Complete Salary Survey in Excel
The survey can be completed in Excel and emailed to surveys@healthman.co.za, or printed out and completed manually, and then scanned and emailed to surveys@healthman.co.za or faxed to 011 782 0270 (HealthMan fax).
Just a note on Equipment
Equipment is an expensive part of many practices. This is a specialised field and we have sub-contracted this review to experts in the field. We will discuss the contents of the results with your various Exco Committees and may send some disciplines a survey to test what level of equipment you have and to what extent you share equipment.
Your participation is important
We kindly ask that you complete the surveys to the best of your ability. If you have any concerns or questions, please feel free to email surveys@healthman.co.za. We will also send continuous e-mail and SMS reminders to encourage participation in the project, so please bear with us.
Consortium Contact Details
Contact details for the Consortium project leaders are as follows:
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