Lenmed Care Rating 2024
As you know, Discovery Health published a single, integrated hospital care rating tool, Hospital Care on the Discovery
website in December 2022. The work gained momentum following the Health Market Inquiry (HMI) recommendations
in 2019 and builds on various quality and outcome initiatives that we have worked on with you and other groups in
South Africa through the years.
Based on a well-established methodology developed by Yale University, the intention of the Hospital Care rating
remains to provide consumers, healthcare professionals and hospital providers with a consistent and credible set of
data and facts on which to track and compare underlying performance across different hospitals. Experience from
other countries has shown that this transparency provides consumers with substantial reassurance regarding the
importance of quality and leads to open discussion, within and across facilities, on continuous improvement of
quality and clinical outcomes.
In 2024, our team has refreshed the Hospital Care data and is preparing to update the website with the latest ratings.
These ratings have been thoughtfully developed through extensive collaboration with your team, other hospital
groups, and healthcare professionals nationwide. This collaborative effort is reflected in our updated methodology.
Our approach continues to use the established hospital comparison categories: “better than expected,” “as expected,”
and “less than expected.” This framework ensures recognition and celebration of hospitals performing above average,
while constructively identifying areas for improvement without diminishing the efforts of other hospitals. It also
allows for a process of continuous improvement where we collectively work to improve the overall performance of
the system over time.
On behalf of Discovery Health, I am delighted to inform you that 3 hospitals across the Lenmed Group have achieved
“Better than expected” on the Discovery Health Hospital Care rating when compared to other hospitals nationally for
the full year 2023. While a big part of this initiative is to support ongoing improvement efforts in quality of care, it is
also an important moment to recognise and celebrate those hospitals that have ranked best in the country.
2024/10 Page 2 of 2
The Lenmed Group hospitals which feature in the “Better than expected “category overall for 2024 are (in alphabetical
order):
• Lenmed Health Ahmed Kathrada Private Hospital
• Lenmed Health Shifa Hospital
• Lenmed Howick Private Hospital
Congratulations to you and your team on this excellent performance. Please pass on sincere thanks and
congratulations to all your hospital managers and other executives involved.
Details on the ratings of your other hospitals have been made available to your team. The ratings will be refreshed on
the Discovery website and made available to members of Discovery Health-administered schemes from the 6
December 2024 via the website.
Thank you once again for your partnership and ongoing collaboration on strengthening and improving the health
system to the benefit of medical scheme members and the South African population more broadly.
Best regards
Dr Ron Whelan
CEO
Discovery Health
