An information technology readiness assessment framework for the South African national health insurance

Abstract

Healthcare is one of the areas that play a big role in government service delivery. Providing efficient healthcare services to all communities of the country is hard to achieve. This is due to the gap that exists between two sectors (private and public) in South Africa. Public sector receives funding from the government to provide service delivery to the wider population which is mostly the low-income earners. Due to this, the South African government decided to implement the National Health Insurance (NHI) which aims to offer equal provision of healthcare services to all citizens of the country irrespective of their background. The aim of the study was to develop a framework which can be used to assess the readiness of the implementation of the South African NHI system, from an ICT perspective in South Africa. Based on the aim, the objectives of the study were: (i) to examine and understand the factors that can influence the implementation of the NHI system in the communities of South Africa; (ii) to examine how the NHI system can be implemented in the communities of the country and (iii) understand the current state of the implementation of the NHI system. In achieving these objectives, survey design was selected. Qualitative data was collected from the communities around the country and the medical aid organization. Data was collected in the form of semi-structured interviews and document analysis Socio technical theory (structuration theory) was used to guide the analysis of the study. Interpretive approach was followed. Four factors that could influence the implementation of the NHI were identified as: readiness assessment, training and development, integration of healthcare systems and governance. Findings were interpreted and the framework that can be used as a guide to implement the NHI in South Africa was developed.