News that Social and Health Insurances SZV had terminated its contract with a healthcare provider (see Thursday paper) raised more questions that it answered. The story, perhaps understandably, did not say which one or even whether it is on-island.
However, there have regularly been reports of issues during referrals abroad, some of them specific like in a letter on the opinion pages of last week’s Friday/Saturday edition. Although it must be hard enough to effectively monitor local medical institutions and practitioners, let alone those in other countries, strict compliance with regulations is essential to safeguard the well-being of covered clients.
Striving for the highest standards of transparency, accountability and delivery of service as management stated ought to therefore indeed remain non-negotiable. At the end of the day this can regard matters of life and death.
Ideal would be to have every possible specialisation, test and treatment available on-island, but due the economy of scale that is simply not realistic. In any case, St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) continues upgrading its facilities pending completion of the adjacent new St. Maarten General Hospital (SMGH).
The latter will hopefully lead to a greater expansion and improvement of services, so fewer persons need to be sent elsewhere with all possible financial, social and emotional consequences for patients but also their loved ones. This is still no guarantee of quality, mind you, because that depends on many factors; not in the last place, human resources.
Nevertheless, the investments currently being made, if done correctly, should certainly pay off in a big way and hopefully at least reduce the complaints.
