Dear Member

The aim of this newsletter is to keep you up to date with the most recent events and dealings of the ExCo and Congress Committees of the Society.   At all times feel free to contact any member of the Exco about anything that you feel should be discussed.  Our website has been updated and modernized and we request you to avail yourself at all the changes that have been instituted and to make use of the many new facilities created by these changes.

SASS CONGRESS LORD CHARLES HOTEL, SOMERSET WEST:  18-22 MAY 2010

This meeting was a combined meeting with the Scoliosis Research Society.  The new format used to organize these meetings proved to be a great success.  A permanent office with an additional secretary has been established in the Department of Prof Robert Dunn in Cape Town.  Prof Dunn and his committee organized an academic program of the very highest quality.  He will continue to be the chairman of the organizing committee on a permanent arrangement, as was decided at the AGM of SASS in 2009.  After a number of years the arrangement will be reviewed and recommendations made.  Mrs Hendrika van der Merwe once again acted as Congress Events Organizer in conjunction with her secretarial responsibilities.  The social program was very well accepted and enjoyed.   

We had the most unfortunate incident when the Islam members of SASS were offended by the presentation of Zapiro who was the after-dinner speaker.  At the congress dinner and in discussions and communications we apologized to our Islam members and we are extremely grateful that the matter has been laid to rest.  The ExCo undertakes to make sure in future that no specific group of members will be offended by any actions or decisions taken by ExCo.

MEMBERSHIP

Dr David Welsh takes care of the activities of the membership portfolio in the present ExCo.  Currently we have 137 full members, 2 associate members, 8 affiliate members, 7 emeritus members and 3 honorary members.  Ms Marilyn van den Berg (membership@saspine.org) is the secretary based in the office of Prof Robert Dunn handling membership affairs.

            We request members to please check if the detail of their membership is still unchanged and if not, to communicate with the Ms Van den Berg at the above email address.

SASS CONGRESS 2011

Spine Congress 2011 will be held at the Champagne Sports Resort, Central Drakensberg, Kwa Zulu Natal from 25 – 28 May.

We are honoured to host the following renowned international spine surgeons:

Ø  Prof Brian Freeman – Adelaide, Australia

Ø  Dr John Hutchinson – Bristol, United Kingdom

Ø  Dr Sanjay Behari – Lucknow, India

Ø  Dr Francesco Sala – Verona, Italy

v  Call for Papers:  Deadline is 28 January 2011.  Please check the website for full details – www.saspine.org.

Abstracts should be forwarded to Prof Robert Dunn at info@spinesurgery.co.za

v  Please note that the previous congress website www.spinecongress.co.za is NO LONGER in use.

v  Delegates should log on to the Society’s website at www.saspine.org for all future congress details.

v  Congress Registration will also be made available online through our newly updated website. 

The congress will focus on Tumour Management, Trauma and Neurophysiological Monitoring with some Contentious Degenerative Issues.  With the ongoing pressures we face on the medico-legal and financial front, we will again embrace some of these challenges and in doing so earn our ethics points to allow our continued practice.

Prof Robert Dunn encourages members to contribute to the program by submitting abstracts not later than 28 January 2011.  The meeting once again promises to provide an excellent social program. Members interested in participating in a golf tournament between Orthopaedic- en Neurosurgeons on Saturday 28 May 2011 after closure of the lectures, should contact the President by email (daan@djk.co.za) or Hendrika van der Merwe at the SASS office.

WEBSITE

Dr Gerrit Coetzee has restructured the SASS website and Emerald Veldtman has joined Elza Cromarty in managing the website.  Hopefully a facility providing a security log-in for SASS members will soon be activated.  The website, as it is at present, will allow members to update their details, pay membership fees and register for the meetings.

COOPERATION WITH SANS AND SAOA IN ESTABLISHING A FEE STRUCTURE

Dr Pradeep Makan was requested by ExCo to investigate the various aspects of these problems and has liaised with the South African Neurosurgical Society (SANS) as well as the South African Orthopaedic Association (SAOA) and will make the necessary recommendations.

The South African Private Practice Forum (SAPPS), SAMA and HASA have been successful in a legal battle against the Department of Health with regards to having the existing national reference pricelist scrapped on the basis of procedural unfairness by the DOH in determining rates.  In essence, thus we do not have a fee structure in place for 2011 and practitioners have to determine what they will charge and funders will decide what they will pay.  This cannot be a permanent solution as doctors will want to charge more and medical aids will want to pay less.

Hopefully a new tariff negotiation committee between all the societies involved in spinal practice will establish a new tariff negotiating committee who will negotiate with the Council of Medical Schemes and the DOH. It will be necessary to determine pricing based on the legislated framework.  At present we are using the historical SAMA procedural codes but then these will be replaced by a CPT billing structure.  The SANS and SAOA have been asked to review the codes relevant to their members on behalf of SASS and Pradeep Makan will make the necessary presentations. It is envisaged that the unit value of each procedure will be determined using data obtained from the private hospital industry.  Procedural codes will be allocated, values based on average time taken for each procedure. The monetary value of a unit will be determined using the legislated formula with calculations based on the private practice cost studies.

NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE

Dr Pradeep Makan attended a meeting where the ANC introduced a strategic ten-point plan and commissioned the Department of Health to implement them. It was evident that there are many obstacles in the way before establishing the NHI, its management and the execution of this plan.  

From our point of view as SASS members, it is business as usual as the introduction of NHI would not have any immediate impact on our practices.  The idea is to rectify health care problems from the bottom up and we do anticipate that there will be an increased need for our services as more South African citizens will be able to access specialist care within both the public and private sector.

DBC AND MEDICAL AIDS

ExCo was involved in many discussions with medical aids that elect to refer their spinal problems for their primary treatment to the programme at DBC. We have also held discussions with the management staff of DBC. We can only advise our members to acquaint themselves with the structure and activities of DBC and inform their patients affected by these arrangements of all the aspects surrounding this issue, as well as potential benefits of the DBC program. It is the opinion of SASS that all patients should receive the best treatment under all circumstances and if members are of the opinion that the patients have not been offered the best options, may express their dissatisfaction to the relevant healthcare funder or approach the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF).

PREFERRED PROVIDERS

Members should distinguish between preferred providers and preferred payment options as offered by certain medical aids. It has come to the attention of SASS ExCo that as from next year some medical aids will endeavour to introduce a preferred provider system where members will only be allowed to have their surgery performed by surgeons chosen by the specific medical aid. We strongly advise our members not to enter into such an agreement.

CPD POINTS FOR OVERSEAS VISITS

There seems to be uncertainty amongst members how to have CPD points accredited to them for attending overseas congresses.  The SASS is not an accreditation body and members therefore need to apply to the necessary registered institutions themselves.  The University of Cape Town offers such an option.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

At present the financial status of the SASS is excellent.  At the last ExCo meeting it was suggested that sufficient capital be accumulated to allow SASS to run at least one congress without trade sponsorship.  It is envisaged that trade sponsorship in future will progressively be more difficult to negotiate.

FUTURE EVENTS

Please find information of future events on the next page.

Kindest regards.

DAAN DE KLERK

President: SA Spine Society

FUTURE INTERNATIONAL MEETING DATES

Global Spine Congress:

·         23 March 2011, Barcelona

IMAST

·         13-16 July 2011, Copenhagen

North American Spine Society:

·         26^th Annual Meeting, Chicago, Illinois

Website:  http://www.spine.org

1-5 November 2011

·         27^th Annual Meeting, Dallas , Texas

Website:  http://www.spine.org

23-27 October 2012

Eurospine 2011

·         19-21 October 2011, Milan

Website:  www.eurospine2011.com

Email:  eurospine2011@aimgroup.eu