Zimbabwean Doctors Welcome Lifting Of Medical Advertising Ban
Zimbabwean doctors have welcomed the proposed lifting of the ban on advertising medical services, which is set to take effect on January 1, 2025.
Minister of Finance, Mthuli Ncube, proposed to lift the ban during the presentation of the National Budget last Thursday.
In an interview with The Herald, Johannes Marisa welcomed the move, saying it will benefit patients by providing them with essential information to make better healthcare choices. Said Marisa:
The lifting of the ban was announced by the Minister of Finance, Prof Mthuli Ncube while addressing the National Budget last Thursday.
That is really sweet news. The world has changed in terms of technology if we are to compare it with the past. Patients need to know the available medical services if they are to go for them.
There are so many services that are now offered in our country, but people do not know. Once any form of passing information was found to be advertising, the regulatory bodies would be quick to knock on your door.
It’s a milestone that will uplift our medical tourism. Patients did not know what the country was capable of.
Dr Vivek Solanki, the founder of Trauma Centre, also commended the move, saying the move “is a game-changing decision”. He said:
This is a game-changing decision that has been made and enacted. This puts Zimbabwean healthcare first. This saves a lot of foreign currency.
This means we can put up billboards of information on our streets, roads, hotels, airports, same as they do in South Africa, in Tanzania, in Zambia, in Dubai, in India, in Thailand.
Everybody else has been doing this, and this is how Zimbabweans know more about the services that are available in those foreign countries than what is available back home.
The lifting of the ban and amending the Health Act for the doctors to be able to advertise their services, hospitals to be able to advertise their services too, not only in the neighbouring region and globally, but also within Zimbabwe, is a milestone in the history of healthcare.
This puts us on the global front of healthcare services. Doctors in Zimbabwe will now be able to find out and know what is available within the country before embarking on foreign journeys, which purport to be much cheaper services.
And then they can make a more informed decision, avoid foreign complications, spend on foreign currency, spending a long time away from home and family, and also mitigate and minimise complications of day.
The Medical and Dental Practitioners Council of Zimbabwe (MDPCZ) is set to introduce guidelines for medical advertising.
More: Pindula News
