The Medical Device Market: South Africa

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The Medical Device Market: South Africa

Espicom Business Intelligence
Management Report October 2006

Espicom’s in-depth medical device market reports are ideal for executives wanting to understand the key drivers in medical markets and have access to a wealth of statistical data. Each report opens with an outlook section that provides analysis of the market, 5-year market forecasts, national data projections, market outlook and key developments such as regulation, health facilities and government policy. The report also provides extensive background information, population trends, health status, health expenditure, organisation & administration, hospital services, medical personnel, healthcare development, market access information, trade data and essential industry contacts. Included with the report are 3 free quarterly updated outlook reports, enabling you to keep up to date with market developments for a year. The South African healthcare market is complex and fragmented; foreign companies require extensive representation to gain a foothold in the medical device market. The old administration was decentralised and extremely run down, at least outside the major urban areas. Gaining access is still no simple matter, reflecting the complicated and transitory nature of South Africa’s health system in general. There are many points of access and it is not always clear as to where the real purchasing power lies. South Africa manufactures very little medical equipment, so most products are imported from overseas.

Since 1994, the government has severely restricted public funding for the secondary and tertiary sectors, arguing that such facilities are not a priority for the majority of the population. This restriction is being furthered by the proposed introduction of Certificates of Need, the most controversial element of the new National Health Act. Certificates of Need were supposed to be introduced in 2005, but as yet, the relevant chapter of the National Health Act has not come into effect. In mid-2005, a draft Health Charter was introduced by the government to improve access to and equity and quality of healthcare services, as well as increasing levels of black economic empowerment. It was offered to stakeholders for consultation and a revised Charter was announced in October 2005 which was hailed as heavily amended and seen as backtracking on behalf of the Ministry of Health.

In practice, South Africa’s private hospitals cater for the urban white population and an increasingly affluent Black middle class. Patients generally fund treatment through medical insurance schemes. Rich urban areas retain many of the high-quality facilities developed under the apartheid regime, while rural areas and Black townships are only slowly beginning to establish any kind of modern health service. New private hospital building is officially banned, although expansion of existing facilities is usually possible. The problem of HIV infection is particularly acute.

Number of pages - 130

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