With most South African medical aids no longer providing coverage for cosmetic dental surgery and treatment, and bank loans being difficult and time-consuming to obtain, a new specialized financing solution that considers the consumer has emerged in response to these adverse conditions in the healthcare market.  

Access to dental cosmetic surgery for health imperatives or aesthetic reasons is often unattainable due to lack of cover from South African medical aids. According to Dr JJ Serfontein – a leading Cape Town cosmetic dentist practitioner – this prevents the broader South African public from securing healthcare. However, there is a solution. He recommends MediFin to his patients, because it offers a financing solution that provides clients with easy payment terms and conditions.

Dr Serfontein opened his practice in Cape Town with the vision of providing world-class dental care. Through his dynamic involvement in the greater industry itself, as well as through the operations of his own very busy practice, he has noticed certain worrying patterns in the payment of dental treatments that are affecting South Africans at large. Medical aids' non-financing of cosmetic dental surgery means that clients either delay care or are unable to seek or proceed with dental treatment at all.  

Another pressing concern, he says, is: “to avoid a situation where patients believe that they can't afford the ideal treatment required and instead settle for a compromise treatment plan. Generally, the only reason people settle for cheaper materials and therefore less durability is because of finance. It is very sad when people start to compromise their own health because of money and due to a lack of funds.” Frustratingly, when trying to offer his clients the very best services (an ethos that has seen Dr Serfontein create a very successful practice supported by repeat clients), he has been stymied by the traditional payment strategies optioned to his clients by banks and medical aids. Personal loan applications via banks are often arduous and unsuccessful, and medical aid payouts for certain procedures have become extremely limited.'

In response to this adverse trend in the healthcare market, the hassle-free solution known as MediFin was born. Prospective healthcare clients can now speedily access the best cosmetic dental treatment through MediFin’s easy online application that submits a response within an hour of inquiry.

But MediFin has other advantages too. Dr Serfontein says that MediFin's financing solution is cheaper than a credit card for both him and his clients. He is thus able to reduce his operating costs, while providing his clients with a more cost-effective solution to the conventional bank loan system.

In addition, MediFin's approach does away with collateral and down payments and loans are not subject to early settlement penalties or exorbitant interest rates. As specialist loan providers, MediFin's financing solutions focus on niche sectors, with a thorough understanding of each market - in this case, the dental industry. This means that MediFin’s financial solutions are tailored to the needs of the consumer.

Impressively, payment terms are variable allowing for terms that suit both the patient and practitioner. Therefore, according to Dr Serfontiein, MediFin cleverly allows access to health benefits while providing easy payment and loan options.

For a practitioner like Dr Serfontein – committed to specialised oral and dental care – MediFin presents a unique solution to the crisis of accessing quality healthcare within the South African medical landscape. That’s why he happily offers the MediFin solution to all his patients. MediFin and its inclusion in practices like Dr Serfontein's, is part of a broader project to increase the number of people who can exercise their right to have world-class care. These exciting developments require the vision of practitioners like Dr Serfontein and the business savvy of MediFin to bring them to life. More importantly MediFin is being increasingly supported by grateful and satisfied patients, who make use of this valuable service. Now that’s really cause for a winning smile!

For more information about MediFin contact 0861 000 808, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.medifin.co.za/

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ABOUT MEDIFIN: The majority of South Africans cannot afford to pay for any medical or dental procedure. Even those fortunate few that can afford full comprehensive medical aid cannot claim from their medical aid funds for a large variety of procedures, which are excluded. MediFin´s sole purpose is to assist normal South Africans to proceed with their desired, if not critical, medical procedures sooner rather than later. MediFin was launched in the middle of 2012 in the Western Cape and quickly reached over 1500 medical and dental practices, with over 800 practices being serviced on a regular basis. During the first three months of 2013 the company expanded to Gauteng and Kwazulu-Natal and quickly reached an additional 2000 practices.   ISSUED BY: Lauren Shantall (Pty) Ltd This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 084 79 11 11 1