(Business in Cameroon) – The Yaounde Central Hospital has introduced a new flat-rate healthcare payment system designed to enhance transparency, reduce administrative delays, and lower patient costs. The initiative covers all medical acts, hospital care, medicines, and consumables, enabling patients to make a single consolidated payment for treatment. The system has been launched to simplify billing procedures and make hospital payments faster and more efficient.
The hospital’s management confirmed that the new pricing model is fully operational across several departments, including maternity and internal medicine. It replaces the previous payment structure that required patients to make multiple separate payments for consultation, medication, and consumables. According to the Administrative and Finance Unit, this flat rate approach standardises charges according to the type of medical condition and duration of hospitalisation. The aim is to ensure that each patient’s total cost is known in advance, allowing for better planning and financial predictability.
Under the new system for example, maternity patients benefit from a single payment covering all related expenses. For example, a normal delivery now costs FCFA 50,000, compared to previous separate payments amounting to FCFA 44,000 for basic services, plus additional charges for medicines and medical supplies. Hospital officials say the change has also reduced waiting times linked to fragmented billing and improved coordination between administrative and clinical teams.
Bouba Glory Nalela, Chief of the Administrative and Finance Unit, said that each patient is assigned a category of rate based on their medical condition. “Every patient, depending on the pathology, falls under a category of rate,” she explained, adding that the system was adopted to limit dependency on caregivers and streamline the hospital’s internal workflow. The model has already been applied in the maternity ward, where its impact has been most visible in reducing delays and simplifying billing for patients and staff.
The hospital management indicated that the reform is part of an ongoing institutional modernisation effort to make administrative and financial processes more transparent. It also seeks to ensure that patients receive timely treatment without repeated financial transactions during their stay. Officials confirmed that early implementation results have been positive, with increased efficiency in service delivery and faster processing of patient records.
Mercy Fosoh
