Doctors to seek approval before referring patients abroad

Doctors to seek approval before referring patients abroad

The Director of Medical Services has put out a notice to doctors asking them to seek his approval before referring any patients abroad for further treatment.

The gazette notice by Dr. Kioko Jackson, the Director of Medical Services, has also warned doctors from referring patients outside of their scope of practice.

The notice follows rising cases of doctors colluding with hospitals and doctors abroad to get them to refer patients to them for further treatment and receiving kickbacks.

Dr. Kioko now wants doctors in the country to also personally follow up on the progress and return of the patients they refer abroad for further treatment.

The following is the comprehensive list of Dr. Kioko’s demands and guidelines;

  1. You are only allowed to refer in your area of Specialty/Sub Speacialty.
  2. Only those services which are not locally available should be referred with justification.
  3. You must plan for follow-up locally on return of patients.
  4. Patients with conditions with poor prognosis should not be referred; and this must be explained to the patient and/or the relatives.
  5. You need to write to Director of Medical Services giving adequate information on the patient’s condition and justification for referral.
  6. Duly filled forms such as NHIF and that in the Gazette Notice must be completed and submitted accordingly.
  7. You must discuss financial implication of treatment. For those on NHIF National Scheme, please note that NHIF has a ceiling of the amount it pays.

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NHIF Director of Medical Services Dr. Jackson Kioko NHIF National Scheme

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