The potential market demand for biokinetics in the private health care sector of South Africa

Objective: Biokinetics, a profession registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA), address inter alia chronic diseases of lifestyle (CDL) with exercise as treatment modality. The purpose of this investigation is to determine the potential market demand for biokinetic services in the private health care sector of South Africa. Methods: Data from a pharmaceutical benefit management system (PBM) were analysed to determine the prevalence of chronic diseases in the private health care sector for 2007. Telephonic interviews on a sub-sample of 50 biokineticists revealed the average number of patients that can be treated monthly per biokineticist. The number of biokineticists with active practice numbers was obtained from the Board of Health Care Funders (BHF). Results: The results indicate that 47% (747 199/1 600 000) of the patients managed by the PBM are treated with medication for one or more CDL. Non-steroid anti-inflammatory medication (21%), medication for cardiovascular diseases (13%) and bronchodilators (11%) had the highest prevalence. The sub-sample of biokineticists indicated that one biokineticist can treat an average of 100 patients per month. The potential market demand calculated from the above numbers indicated that 7 472 biokineticists are needed in the private health care sector, while only 625 active practice numbers were registered with the BHF in 2007.Conclusion: In conclusion, it is estimated that only 7.6% of patients with CDL can potentially be treated by the current number of registered biokineticists. Therefore an enormous market potential for biokinetics exists in the private health care sector of South Africa.