Software development specialist MIP Holdings has licensed Cape Town-based Genesis Medical Scheme to run its Medstar medical scheme administration and Astrafin financial systems. The deal is worth R3.5 million. The contract includes the purchase of a Sun Microsystems Ultra Enterprise 250 server, support and customisation. The need for a new system arose after the management of Genesis decided to bring the administration of the scheme, formerly known as Docmed, in-house. Management also intends to broaden membership of the scheme beyond the government sector it has concentrated on to date. The scheme has a membership base of 3 000 principal members, and intends to grow to about 15 000 members over the next two years.
"We chose Medstar because its feature-rich functionality was a close fit to our requirements," says Genesis general manager Warren Venter. "It has the ability to interface with all the major service providers in the health sector and to speed up and simplify the management of claims. For example, its ability to interface with the government`s salary system, Persal, to collect members` monthly contributions is a key benefit for a scheme such as ours that has mostly government employees as members.
"The system`s flexible database enables the administrator to manage each member individually, so you are able to maintain tight control on the collection of contributions and payment of claims. Fraudulent and corrupt practices can easily be detected. The system is able to provide up to date and pertinent financial information enabling effective management of the scheme to the benefit of all parties including members and service providers."
Costs are billed at a fixed fee per month based on the number of principal members recorded on the system.
Genesis will eventually be completely web-enabled using MIP`s rapid web-development tools to add value to member services. For example members will be able to key into their own accounts via the Internet to check claims payments.
"The management of data including the maintenance of its integrity are key aspects of successful medical aid management today," says Venter. "We believe that MIP has the right mix of products and services to meet our data management and administration system requirements, enabling us to deliver the best possible service to our members."
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