Over the past few years, we have become increasingly aware of the key role hospitals and medical services play in keeping us all safe and cared for. The Covid-19 pandemic exemplified the heroic role that many healthcare professionals and facilities play in ensuring our health is the top priority. With the focus of its operations in Gauteng, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Western Cape, the Intercare Group is leading the healthcare sector in South Africa to provide patients with top-quality medical services across a range of routine and specialised medical, dental and rehabilitation services.
Founded in 2000, Intercare was established by Dr. Hendrick Hanekon and Dr. George Veliotes with the simple purpose of striving to make people feel better. The Intercare Group was the first medical and dental centre to open in the country and has now grown exponentially to over 27 multidisciplinary medical and dental centres, 4 day hospitals, 4 sub-acute and rehabilitation hospitals, and 1 Intercare Medfem hospital across South Africa. The medical group is a people-focused organisation that structures its services around the health status and needs of its patients. This patient-focused approach ensures that they can deliver the best and most unique care possible to help people across the country feel better faster.
Intercare offers a range of medical services that centers accessibility and convenience at the heart of its care delivery model. A key focus of the company is that gaining access to treatment should not be difficult, therefore, it has carefully located its facilities, implemented extended operating times, and attempted to reduce the physical fragmentation of the location of medical services by bringing multiple services under one roof to make treatment easier to receive. These changes ensure that patients across South Africa have quick and convenient access to general practitioners, dentists, radiologists, pathologists, physiotherapists, psychologists, dieticians, optometrists, audiologists, and pharmacies all under the same Intercare facilities.
An impressive element of Intercare’s treatment is its virtual consultation offerings. Patients can access care virtually through remote video calls with healthcare professionals. This system allows patients who find it difficult to get to the facilities the chance to still receive top-quality and professional care. Whilst this does not replace face-to-face appointments it provides a crucial option for those with disabilities or other illnesses which may prevent them from accessing treatment as easily. However, Intercare goes one step further and focuses on continuity of care. This means that patients can receive in-person and virtual consultations with the same healthcare professional, therefore they continue to receive care from the healthcare professional who best understands their treatment history. This focus on continuity ensures that patients’ personalised care is paramount compared to other virtual services which may prioritize speed and accessibility over quality.
A key division of Intercare’s facilities is in its dental centres which feature fully-fledged dental departments that are filled with top-quality dentists and oral hygienists all of whom are well-equipped to provide a full range of dental services to its patients. These services include routine detailed care, to specialised dental services including teeth whitening, porcelain crowns, veneers, inlays, implants, and periodontal screening – to name just a few. The care provided through Intercare’s dental centres ranges from specialised, routine, and oral hygiene care and so patients can receive full dental treatment options from routine to cosmetic across the group’s services.
Another crucial service provided by Intercare is rehabilitation services through its Sub-Acute Rehabilitation Hospitals. These facilities provide services to patients who no longer require intensive diagnostics or invasive procedures but require some medical attention to help promote rehabilitation following surgery, injury, or disease. With access to general practitioners, nurses, case managers, physiotherapists, speech therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, dieticians and social workers, patients are put in the best conditions to help ensure the maximum restoration of mobility and quality of life possible is achieved. Intercare was the first group to develop this model of rehabilitation care, and its resulting figures show that readmissions were reduced after patients were discharged by 33%, with preventable admissions reduced by 50%. Therefore, the Sub-Acute Rehabilitation Hospitals under Intercare provide crucial care outside of intensive and in-patient units to ensure that quality of life is promoted, and patients are set up in the best conditions to live their lives to prevent them from needing to return to hospital care following their discharge.
Intercare of course also offers day hospitals, or outpatient surgery centres, which carry out procedures that don’t require an overnight stay. These services prioritize patient safety and comfort whilst utilizing the best procedure techniques and technology to speed up patient care. These facilities quickly and efficiently work to provide crucial care to patients but allow them to rest in the comfort of their own homes. Therefore, they are convenient to patients’ needs, whilst never compromising on quality clinical care. Within these facilities, Intercare has 3 modern operating theatres, 20-24 patient beds, procedure-relevant equipment technology, as well as pathology and child-friendly units.
The final key operation of Intercare is its Medfem Hospital located in Gauteng which specialises in women’s health. The hospital provides gynaecological, fertility and cosmetic surgery. Working alongside reproduction specialists, the facility is focused on providing a caring, convenient, and holistic approach to patients undergoing fertility treatment. In 2021, the Discovery Health Medical Scheme (DHMS) introduced the Infertility and Assisted Reproductive Therapy (ART) benefit which provides cover for assisted reproductive technology such as In-Vitro fertilisation (IVF), Intra-Uterine Insemination (IUI), Frozen Embryo Transfers (FET), and Intra-Cytoplasm Sperm Injections (ICSI). This program means that female members between the ages of 25 and 42 who are on executive and comprehensive insurance plans, and who have also been members for two years, will have access to up to 2 cycles of ART. Therefore, through Intercare women’s healthcare is given crucial and sensitive development through Intercare’s top-quality care facility.
Intercare is focused on helping its patients feel better, and so has created an informative online Health Hub that provides patients with essential information on a range of medical and dental concerns they may have. The site also provides a range of family, recipes, and wellness options to give patients a well-rounded approach to healthcare. Furthermore, this service also makes it easy for patients to find a general practitioner, dentist, specialist, or facility nearby. Therefore, Intercare’s online Health Hub is yet another way that it is helping to bring peace of mind through easy access to services and healthcare professionals across the country.
Overall, across Intercare’s range of operations, they are placing the patient and their needs at the centre. By providing a range of facilities that work cohesively with more intensive sectors of the medical sector they can provide vital rehabilitation, dental, outpatient and female health-focused healthcare that is promoting the betterment of people across South Africa. Intercare focuses on a range of health care concerns so you can be sure that no matter who you are or what you are dealing with, Intercare will be there for you and will provide you with the vital treatment you need in the most efficient, caring and supported way possible. Therefore, in choosing the Intercare Group you are choosing healthcare which is committed to excellence.
