Company History
The MSO was first registered in 1995 by Healthcare Management Holdings (Pty) Ltd (HMH), a 100% owned subsidiary of the listed South African Druggist Ltd Group. The MSO was considered critical to the HMH strategy of taking risk in the healthcare environment. Its ability to control costs was proven in the market when it allowed HMH to take full risk with the NBC scheme in 1999. MSO led the market in introducing risk based service fees. In 1999, Fedsure Healthcare acquired Healthcare Management Holdings and its subsidiaries. Fedsure identified the ability to manage risk as a significant competitive advantage and took the decision to restrict the MSO services to internal schemes. With the unbundling of the Fedsure Group, MSO management, in conjunction with private equity partners purchased the assets of MSO and started the "new" MSO in August 2001. The independence of MSO and its ability to manage risk (and thereby reduce costs), on behalf of medical schemes and other providers of healthcare funding is unique. It provides funders with a cost-effective option of gaining access to risk management services without the extensive time and capital required to develop it themselves.
Why Partner with MSO
MSO is committed to offering the most efficient and cost-effective healthcare risk management solutions. There are a wide range of key attributes that set MSO apart from other offerings in the market:
- MSO is the only independent managed care provider that integrates seamlessly with most leading administrators and administrative systems. We have real time, on-line integration between NHA, MIP and Nexus that is well established. MSO interfaces efficiently with 7 other administration systems. If the Trustees select MSO as their managed care partner they are not compelled to then select a specific administrator or administration system but retain full control of the decision. As importantly, it means that they retain this ability into the future. With MSO as their managed care partner, the Trustees are able to decide at any time to change administration systems without any impact on the managed care service.
- MSO is the only hospital risk manager that provides in-hospital case management where a case manager visits specific cases in hospital.
- From direct interaction with the Registrar’s office, MSO is aware that it is the Registrar’s intention to require Insurer’s to contract separately for the various managed care service elements. The Registrar’s objective is to achieve greater price transparency as well as empower Trustee decision making. MSO has invested in state of the art contact centre technology that is capable of integrating all voice, fax and e-mail contacts and providing a member with a “one stop shop” experience, even with multiple service providers.
- MSO is the only managed care provider that accurately costs the admission, down to detail tariff level at the time of the authorisation, thus ensuring that the hospital does not have an open cheque once the patient is admitted. This is also the only effective way in which in-hospital medication can be controlled.
While all of these are important, the critical key element that sets MSO apart from the market is its proven ability to use all these elemental differentiators to deliver real benefits to client Insurers in the key performance areas of:
- The client services experience of members;
- Real cost containment of the Insurer’s principal cost elements;
- Constant improvement and innovation to allow the Insurer to maintain its market leading edge.
Company Recognition
Independent Industry Review:
We benchmark our performance through annual participation in the global call centre benchmarking study. We have already had one of our staff members win the “Call Centre Agent of the Year” award, and for the past four years MSO has won the PMR award for our Hospital Risk Management as well as our Oncology Management Program.
Independent Actuarial Review:
Over the past two years, independent actuaries of five of our client Insurers have completed exercises, on behalf of Trustees, to confirm MSO’s market leading performance.
