Family Physician
The Specialised Family Medicine (‘Family Physicians’) practitioners have a master’s degree in family medicine, which is recognised by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) as a specialist.
On completion of your course you therefore register with HPCSA as ‘Family Physician’.
The choice then rests with you whether to register with BHF as ‘Family Physician’ with the new pr. no. code of 015 000 (the prefix indicates ‘Family Physician’)
All ‘Family Practitioners’ (GPs) have a prefix of 014 000
At this stage only Discovery Health, GEMS & Polmed pay increased consultation fees to the 015 000 ‘registered’ Family Physicians
Áll medical practitioners have a 13-digit practice number, BUT the Medical Aids & the practice software systems ónly work with the last 7 digits.
This 13-digit pr. no. appears on your ‘BHF Client Information Sheet’ which you can request from BHF
The Practice Code Numbering System (PCNS) is a list of unique practice billing codes for providers of healthcare services in South Africa, Namibia and Lesotho. It promotes a uniform, national and legally constituted identifier for billing purposes.
The 014 000 prefix classifies you as a ‘Family Practitioner’ (GP);
The 015 000 prefix classifies you as a ‘Family Physician’;
Different specialists again have different prefixes; so e.g. is dermatologists’ prefix is different from an orthopedic surgeon, etc.
Registration as a medical practitioner in the category independent practice (family physician)