Not to downplay the seriousness of the disease, he emphasises that those who arrive for treatment in the late or terminal stages of the illness may be too late. But, if they come for treatment early enough, they can add 10 to 20 years to their life. Patients are often referred to the LifeSense treatment centre by their medical aids or they go there themselves. A confidential call centre is usually the first point of contact. A series of pathology tests are then done and, based on the results, medical advisers draw up individual treatment protocols.
Patients enter a structured treatment programme with follow-ups once or twice a month.
Once placed on triple therapy, some of the results have been startling. Last week, the Medicines Control Council registered nevirapine for pregnant mothers. But Cabinet has yet to give it the go-ahead, though approval by the council should speed this up. The company has agreed to monitor resistance to the drug, one of the issues which delayed its registration. One solution is to allow administrators to have underwriting capabilities rather than merely performing administrative functions, says Rhys Edwards, managing director of Aon Consulting.