The number worth memorising here is 082 911 — Bestmed’s 24-hour emergency line, operated by Netcare 911. It is the only Bestmed number published as around-the-clock, and it is short enough to remember without looking it up, which is the point. Everything else is split by function, and Bestmed publishes a dedicated mailbox for almost every one: claims, medicine, authorisations, new business, maternity and its Tempo wellness programme each have their own address. That granularity is useful, but it means a query sent to the general mailbox may be slower than one sent to the right desk. The one to note before a hospital admission is authorisations, which has its own number distinct from general contact. All details come from Bestmed’s own site.
Official contact channels
- 24-hour emergency, Netcare 911: 082 911
- General contact: 086 000 2378, or [email protected]
- Claims, chronic illness and medication: 086 000 2378, with [email protected] and [email protected]
- Hospital authorisation: 080 022 0106, or [email protected]
- Direct sales and new business: 086 033 3838, or [email protected]
- Maternity and infant care: [email protected]
- Tempo wellness programme: [email protected]
- WhatsApp: 068 376 7212
- Anonymous fraud and ethics hotline: 0800 111 627, or [email protected]
Note that Bestmed writes its general number both as 086 000 2378 and as 0860 002 378 in different places on its site. The digits are identical; only the spacing differs.
What this organisation provides
Bestmed is a South African medical scheme offering hospital plans, network plans, savings plans and comprehensive plans, with published benefit areas covering oncology, prescribed minimum benefits, radiology, medicine and chronic benefits, HIV and AIDS, diabetes, maternity care, back and neck, dialysis, preventative care and international travel. It runs the Tempo wellness programme alongside the scheme itself, and publishes a Bestmed app plus separate logins for members, advisors, healthcare providers and corporate groups. That four-way login split is worth noting: a broker or a provider querying a claim uses a different route from a member.
Address and operating information
Bestmed publishes no head office street address or call centre operating hours on its contact material. Only the 082 911 emergency line is identified as a 24-hour service; treat the rest as business-hours routes and use the mailboxes or WhatsApp outside those times. Bestmed also publishes brochures, guides and forms, plus tax certificate information, all of which are self-service and avoid a call entirely.
Support and escalation routes
- Obtain hospital authorisation before admission using the dedicated number. Failing to pre-authorise is the most common reason a scheme claim is reduced or rejected.
- Send documents to the specific mailbox rather than the general one — claims, medicine, authorisations and maternity are handled by different teams.
- Quote your membership number every time, and keep the reference.
- The fraud and ethics hotline runs through behonest.co.za, an independent service rather than a Bestmed inbox, which is what allows an anonymous report.
- Beyond the scheme, complaints about a South African medical scheme go to the Council for Medical Schemes once the scheme’s own dispute process has been exhausted.
Sources
The telephone numbers, email addresses and WhatsApp number on this page were read from Bestmed’s own website at bestmed.co.za on 30 August 2026. Note that its contact-us page returned an error message on that date while still rendering the contact block. Medical scheme routes and benefits change at the start of a benefit year, so confirm against bestmed.co.za or your membership certificate.