Medico-legal brief one: Dedicated alternative dispute resolution units for better management of claims

Suhavna Khalawan, Dr Jodi Wishnia, Adv Anele Ngidi | August 2023

There are various recommendations made by the South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) to resolve issues in the medico-legal context, but there is no silver bullet. Changing one or two things in isolation will not lead to the reform and impact needed. The sector needs wholescale reform that is: integrated; in the best interest of the patient; supports quality improvements; and ensures adequate financial resources for the public health sector.

One of SALRC’s recommendations outlined in the discussion paper 141 was the need for dedicated alternative dispute resolutions (ADR) teams in each province to support better management of claims.[1] In relation to this recommendation, ASSA has commissioned this policy paper to understand how to bring these units to life.

 

[1] South African Law Reform Commission. Project 141: Medico-legal claims [Internet]. 2021 [cited 2022 Aug 30]. Available from: https://www.justice.gov.za/salrc/dpapers/dp154-prj141-Medico-Legal-Claims.pdf