Sept / Oct 2016 | Business View Caribbean

96 September 2016 - Business View Caribbean Business View Caribbean - September 2016 97 say that the Ministry [of Health] has now adopted a position that a new financing model is inevitable if we are to sustain the package, here. I understand a pa- per is shortly going to be presented to the Cabinet for deliberations. I don’t know which of the models the government will embrace, whether it will consider con- tinuing with the taxation model or moving along with socialized health insurance. But the latter approach is what I am advocating.” While James hopes to see the day when a new financ- ing model is incorporated to meet QEH’s operating ex- penses, when it comes to capital improvements, yet another option is being explored. “In terms of capital improvements, we have embarked on philanthropy, where we are seeking to interest and invite persons with high net worth, or even the ordinary citizen, to make a contribution towards the re-capitalization of the Hospital,” he says. “In that regard, we’ve launched an Equipment Prospectus, the last of which was in February of this year, and I’m happy to say, in three years’ time, we’ve raised in excess of $10.2 million in hospital philanthropy. So, philanthropy is going to be big; we intend to set up an institutionalized desk of philanthropy that will properly service and manage many of these donors who may wish to make a contri- bution to the hospital.” Meanwhile, another way in which QEH raises addition- al revenue is via fees paid by private patients who may come to Barbados from the neighboring OECS (Orga- nization of Eastern Caribbean States) countries, and elsewhere, for their healthcare needs. “Our doctors have private practice privileges,” James says. “They can bring private patients into the hospital, operate on them, and charge them a fee. The patient also pays the hospital a fee in accordance with our fee schedule. So, it’s one of the ways we raise a bit of revenue - by leveraging when these doctors bring these patients to the hospital.” Over the next several years, James says that the achievement of hospital accreditation by an interna- tionally recognized body will be one of the top items on QEH’s agenda. “Hospital accreditation is perhaps one of the biggest transformational pieces that is go- ing to happen to us in the next two to three years, where we can benchmark our services against a set of internationally accepted standards,” “he remarks. Aligned with that pursuit is the Hospital’s develop- ment of what James calls “Centers of Excellence” in the areas of ophthalmology, cardiology, neurosurgery, oncology, and intensive care. “Such an award would position us as a true center of healthcare excellence where we can raise the bar in terms of quality and patient safety,” he maintains. “The other area that would be big for us, and has borne a lot of fruit, is the continued exploration and exploitation of information and communications tech-