Fee structure

The practice is contracted in with the following medical aids:

1. Discovery
2. Discovery KeyCare
3. Bonitas
4. GEMS
5. Metropolitan
6. Bankmed
7. Fedhealth
8. Old Mutual
9. LA Health
10. Bestmed
11. Netcare

As long as there are funds available, the patient will not incur a co-payment if they belong to one of the above-mentioned medical aids since consultations are charged at the medical aid’s rate. (Rates differ from one medical aid to the next.)

In compliance with medical aid rules, some medical aids or medical aid plans require an authorisation number before they will cover the cost of a consultation. Please check with your medical aid what their requirements are regarding authorisation. Unfortunately, we are unable to source authorisation numbers for consultations. We do however assist patients with authorisation for admissions. In the case of the patient not having the necessary authorisation number, the patient will have to reschedule the consultation. Alternatively the consultation will be charged at the practice consultation rate.

Any medical aid not listed above, will be charged at the practice consultation rate. This means that depending on the medical aid and the plan, the consultation may or may not be covered in full, and the patient may incur a co-payment as a result. Please check your specific plan’s rate prior to your visit.

The practice consultation rate for 2020 is R900.

In the case of an unscheduled visit or an emergency visit that has to be slotted in between normal consultations, an additional charge will be added to the consultation price.

After hours policy

In the case of your child presenting with an emergency after hours, the Current Recommendation is to proceed to the Emergency Room (Casualty) of Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital. The ER is serviced by a group of highly trained Emergency Medicine Specialists. They will do an assessment, treat as indicated and refer if needed. If your child needs admission or a second opinion the paediatrician on call will be notified, who will assess the situation, make recommendations, prescribe treatment and if needed –  follow up. There are usually only one paediatrician on call per shift, who is responsible for cover of the ER, Labour ward, Paediatric ward, Maternity and Paediatric ICU.

Dr Heyns shares after hours emergency care with the following paediatricians: Dr Krige, Dr Kritzinger, Dr Gray, dr Geogallis and Dr Karabus. These six doctors also enlist the help of a group of highly qualified and specialised paediatric locums for after hours cover.

After hours are considered to be:

  • after 5pm on weekdays until 8am the next morning
  • Friday 5pm to Monday 8am
  • public holidays.

An additional after hours or emergency charge will be added to the normal consultation rates. Please note that consultation rates charged by the other paediatricians are not necessarily the same as my rates mentioned above in Fee structure.

Office hours

The practice and phone lines are open from Monday to Friday (8am to 5pm), excluding public holidays. Please note that Dr Heyns is not necessarily at the consulting rooms or available for consultations during these times, as she is often in the hospital on ward rounds or assisting with a birth. Nicky, our friendly office administrator, will be able to tell you when Dr Heyns is available for consultations.

We keep a few consultation slots available for emergencies every day and we will always try our best to assist you. If, however, there are no consultation slots available and you feel that you cannot wait until the next day, you can contact your general practitioner (who will contact Dr Heyns should the need arise), or consult the emergency unit at the hospital.

For basic help or day-to-day advice on parenting, you are welcome to e-mail Dr Heyns at [email protected]. If the problem is too complex to address via e-mail, Dr Heyns will advise you to book a consultation. Please note that this service is NOT for emergencies as there is no guarantee that your e-mail will be answered within the same day.

Please read the following disclaimer that is included in all e-mails:

This e-mail is sent from the practice of Thriving Kids, hereinafter referred to as “the practice”. This e-mail address is also accessed by administrative and non-healthcare staff. This e-mail and all attachments thereto are confidential and only for use by the direct recipient thereof. It may not be forwarded or distributed by recipients, and may not be used in any manner other than intended or as explicitly agreed to by the practice.

If you use e-mail to obtain healthcare advice or information, please note the following:

a) if we reply, our reply is limited to the information provided by you, and we cannot be held liable for undisclosed information or factors unknown to us. We therefore urge you to rather make an appointment, or, if the matter is urgent, to go to your nearest emergency /casualty unit;

b) e-mail is by its very nature never totally secure and we cannot guarantee the confidentiality of e-mails when it passes through internet systems, neither can we provide any confidentiality guarantee as to who may access the recipient’s e-mail account;

(c) please expect a delayed response, as the practice receives high volumes of e-mails.

Virtual Consultations

We now offer Virtual consultations as an additional service to our patients who does not need a physical examinations.

Patients that may like to utilize this service, are for eg.

  1. patients for follow up where a physical exam is not needed.
  2. patients currently in isolation because of  COVID disease or COVID contact
  3. patients who are in a different location as Cape Town
  4. patients needing advice only for eg. sleep training or feeding

We use the Clickdoc platform and the procedure is as follows:

  1. Phone Nicky on the normal office number – 021 422 1354 and set up an appointment time slot.
  2. State that you would like to book a virtual consultation
  3. Nicky will send you a link
  4. At the time of consultation please click on the link that will give you access to the virtual consultation room.
  5. As soon as dr Heyns is available to start the consult she will click on your name, which will open up the chatroom and the consultation is started.
  6. The screen will show video feed of both parties in consultation.
  7. If the 2 parents wants to join in the consultation from different devices – that is possible too.
  8. The program records the time of consultation as part as proof of visit, but no recording is possible.
  9. During the consultation dr Heyns will be writing some notes in the exact same manner as per normal consultation.
  10. At the end of the consultation a script will be e-mailed to your preferred mailbox.
  11. If the consultation was complex – a short summary will be mailed to you as well.

How does Clickdoc work:

  1. You only need to have google Chrome installed on your device (phone, computer or tablet) for the consultation to take place.
  2. No need to download an additional app or software.
  3. The platform is secure and private
  4. The online time of the consultation and the contact details of the person that the consultation was with is automatically recorded for legal purposes. No voice recordings is possible.
  5. If parents wish to join on 2 different devices they both need to click on the link, and enter the virtual waiting room. Dr Heyns is the only person who then can allow a second person in to the consultation. In this case al three the attendees will show on the video.

Fee structure:

Virtual constultations are charged in according to the new ruling of the HPCSA. A consultation code 0130 Telehealth is used. The fee is R400 minimum but may differ according to medical aids. This is charged to the medical aid and may, or may not be paid in full. The patient is responsible for the difference in case their is a short payment. This fee includes the prescription. An additional prescription fee will not be charged.

Contact details

Telephone number: 021 422 1354
Alternative numbers: 021 441 0011 or 021 424 2902
Fax number: 021 422 3653

Address: Suite 1612
Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital
25 DF Malan Street
Foreshore
Cape Town
Postal address: PO Box 16280
Vlaeberg
8018

E-mail Dr Heyns: [email protected]
E-mail Nicky Leoschut (Office administrator): [email protected]
E-mail Lucinda Urion (Accounts): [email protected]