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Graduate Professional Index - Medical

Professional Index shows COVID-19 severely impacted medical professionals – but not in the way you would think, says PPS

• Long hours, the COVID-19 pandemic and financial strain are the three primary reasons for an increase in depression across all medical professions.
• More than 50% of respondents (63% among doctors) believe that depression has become more prevalent among healthcare professionals.
• 73% of medical professionals believe that the rate of litigation against health care professionals has increased.
• 12% of medical professionals believe that to improve the healthcare system in South Africa, corruption needs to be eradicated.

JOHANNESBURG, June 2022 – The rippling effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on an already constrained economy continues to be felt by medical professionals, according to the 2021 PPS Graduate Professional Index (GPI) survey results. When surveyed about their confidence in the future of their profession, only 39% of medical professionals said they felt assured about their current reality and prospects compared to the 56% of medical professionals in 2019.

The pandemic overwhelmed the South African healthcare system, with medical professionals – the lifeline to patients – succumbing to the virus. With considerably longer working hours and heavier case workloads, the strain, pressure and loss due to the pandemic has 63% of respondents citing an increase in depression among healthcare professionals. The prevalence of depression extended across the healthcare profession, with other medical professions taking immense financial strain from being unable to practice during hard lockdowns.

Launched in 2019, the GPI is an independent online survey conducted by PPS, the financial service provider that exclusively serves the graduate professional market and operates on the ethos of mutuality. In this study, 3 264 graduate professionals who are PPS members shared their voices on issues influencing their professions and the impact this had on their livelihoods.

“The last two years have seen significant changes in the medical fraternity. The pandemic has ushered in new ways of doing things to curb the spread of the virus, with one significant trend being the adoption of telehealth services,” says Ayanda Seboni, Group Executive of Marketing and Stakeholder Relations at PPS.

“Telehealth is where patients consult their doctors virtually, and 39% of our skilled medical professionals report that they have done more telephonic consultations during lockdown than previously, with 58% of medical professionals believing that telemedicine will become more popular in the future,” she explains.

Another key factor negatively influencing confidence is the increase in depression, with 63% of skilled professionals stating that mental illness, specifically depression, has become more prevalent among healthcare professionals. At the height of the pandemic, South Africa experienced a gross shortage of healthcare workers to cover hospital shifts. Limited resources and an increasing workload inevitably challenged medical professionals’ ability to perform optimally. Even before the worst onslaught of the pandemic, South Africa’s public healthcare system was overburdened, with medical professionals facing burnout.

Financial strain was a contributing factor to an increase in depression. Despite the high income that comes with their profession, some young medical workers are not equipped to manage their personal finances. In addition, to start earning a living later than their cohorts, they face the risk of losing their ability to work due to burnout.

“Only 13% of medical professionals consider themselves to be savvy regarding savings and investment matters, but COVID-19 being the biggest public health emergency of our time, has not spared medical practices. The pandemic negatively impacted not only many businesses but medical professionals as well,” says Seboni.

“They suffered tremendous financial losses due to elective surgeries having been put on hold and fewer face-to-face consultations. As a consequence, 12% of respondents used spare funds available to get by financially, leaving no accessible liquid capital to invest in financial planning. The lesson is that earning power is not enough, and even medical professionals need to have experts to take care of their financial matters, investments, and wealth management,” adds Seboni.

Main findings for the medical area:

• Doctors - 39% of respondents in the medical area (41% of doctors) have done more telephonic consultations than previously.

• Dentists – 47% of respondents in the medical area (88% of whom are doctors) shared that it has not been easy to obtain funding to acquire specialised equipment. Additionally, 53% felt strongly about improving the current situation in South Africa (12% of whom are doctors) to recover the healthcare system in South Africa.

An ongoing concern for healthcare professionals is the impact of the National Health Insurance (NHI). When canvassed for their views in the GPI 2021 survey, medical professionals cited their main concern was still focused on policy certainty and ensuring that the NHI remains uncorrupted by the government.

“PPS has about 30 000 members who are healthcare practitioners. This is why we want to ensure that any proposed changes to the present health system in South Africa does not negatively impact the very important role that these professional graduates play in the well-being of individuals and our economy as a whole,” concludes Seboni.

About PPS

PPS boasts in excess of 150 000 members who enjoy access to a comprehensive suite of financial and healthcare products that are specifically tailored to meet the needs of graduate professionals.

PPS is the largest South African company of its kind, exclusively for graduate professionals, that still embraces an ethos of mutuality, which means that it exists solely for the benefit of its members. Thus, PPS members with qualifying products from PPS Insurance, PPS Investments, PPS Short-Term Insurance and Profmed share in the profits of PPS Insurance, PPS Investments, PPS Short-Term Insurance and PPS Healthcare Administrators via annual allocations to the unique PPS Profit-Share Account. PPS membership provides access to the following tried, tested and trusted products and services: PPS Life Insurance, PPS Short-Term Insurance, PPS Financial Advisory, PPS Investments and Profmed Medical Scheme. Visit www.pps.co.za for more information.

PPS a licensed insurer conducting life insurance business, a licensed controlling company and an authorised FSP.