TRADITIONAL doctors must start operating like Western doctors.
This is the opinion of Professor Sithembiso Shabalala who said traditional doctors must have stationery and traceable records of their patients.
Professor Shabalala, a rector at the Mhlabuhlangene School of African Medicine, was speaking at a seminar held at Wattville Day Care Centre in Ekurhuleni on Saturday, 30 July.
He said African doctors must have patients’ cards, referral books, doctor’s notes and receipt books with stamps.
He said: “They must have files so that they keep records of their patients.
“They will be able to write down the type of illness and type of muthi they used to treat a patient.
“We have also taught them which process to follow when claiming for medical aid.”
Doctor Nolanga Mokwele, national co-ordinator of Mhlabuhlangene School of African Medicine, said before African doctors can claim for medical aid they need to enrol at the school to get qualifications.
“Then they will get a practice number that they will use for medical aid,” she said.
African doctors must not be scared to study in order to do their work perfectly,” she said.
Dr Nkhensani Tembe, advertising and marketing strategist, said doctors will also be audited.
because medical aids want records.
“All patient records must be kept properly in case the patient dies. The cause of death must be known and which medicine was used for treatment,” she said.
Dr Tembe said record of what is happening in the doctor’s surgeries must also be kept.
