Medical Practice
Women in ob/gyn earn less money than men in US
While women outnumber men in the US as obstetrics and gynaecology (ob/gyn) practitioners, they still make significantly less money and the pay gap extends to sub-specialties like reproductive endocrinology and infertility (REI), according to...
The legal permutations of being a Good Samaritan
March 13th, 2019 SA doctors have a constitutional duty of care, writes Dr Tony Behrman, consultant for the Medical Protection Society. But unlike some countries where if they provide emergency aid, Good Samaritan legislation protects doctors from subsequent...Over 40% of GPs intend to quit within five years: UK survey
A University of Warwick survey of GPs in the UK has revealed that over 40% intend to leave general practice within the next five years, an increase of nearly a third since 2014. The survey of 929 GPs conducted by the University of Warwick has...
Video of Australian chiropractor's 'very disturbing' treatment of 2-week-old baby
February 27th, 2019 An Australian chiropractor has sparked criticism after a video of him performing controversial spinal treatments on a two-week-old baby was posted online, reports 2gb. The footage shows Dr Andrew Arnold lifting the baby upside down and...
Expert panel strongly recommends against almost all shoulder pain surgery
February 13th, 2019 Surgery should not be performed in almost all patients with a common cause of shoulder pain known as subacromial pain syndrome or SAPS (also called shoulder impingement or rotator cuff disease), say a panel of international experts. Their strong...Complementary medicine use often not disclosed to medical providers
Research reveals that 1 in 3 complementary medicine (CM) users do not disclose their use of these medicines to their medical providers, posing significant direct and indirect risks of adverse effects and harm due to unsafe concurrent use of CM and...
Missed GP appointments 'substantially' increase all-cause mortality
January 16th, 2019 Missing GP appointments is associated with early death, and those with long-term mental health conditions are at particular risk, according to a large Scotland study over three-years. Dr Ross McQueenie led the study from the University of Glasgow...Discrimination a reality for most female surgeons
More than half of female surgeons have faced or witnessed discrimination in the workplace, with orthopaedics was seen as the most sexist of all the surgical specialities, a UK survey found. The researchers were from Imperial College Healthcare...Medical providers most likely to be the culprits in health data breaches
Personal identity may fall at the mercy of sophisticated hackers on many websites, but when it comes to health data breaches, hospitals, doctors’ offices and even insurance companies are oftentimes the culprits, a US study found. Research from...
Why patients lie to their doctors
December 5th, 2018 A study has found that 60% to 80% of people surveyed have not been forthcoming with their doctors about information that could be relevant to their health. Besides fibbing about diet and exercise, more than a third of respondents didn't speak up...
Med scheme actions trigger practitioner calls to 'rein in' and 'rise up'
November 28th, 2018 The SA Private Practitioners Forum has lodged a complaint with the Council for Medical Schemes that the two largest medical schemes — Discovery and GEMS — are ‘circumventing’ payment for Prescribed Minimum Benefits. Meanwhile, at a media...
Review of SA's 15 years of compulsory community service for doctors
September 12th, 2018 The SA experience of compulsory Community Service (CS) over the first 15 years has been 'overwhelmingly positive', largely meeting objectives of redistribution of health professionals and professional development, found a University of Cape Town...
BHF calls on govt to regulate where private sector doctors work
September 5th, 2018 The Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) has called on the government to consider regulating where private sector doctors and specialists work, in order to distribute their services more evenly across the country, reports Business Day....
Women more likely to survive heart attack if treated by female doctor
August 8th, 2018 A large US study found higher mortality among female heart attack patients treated by male doctors than those treated by women. Male and female patients experience similar outcomes when treated by female physicians, suggesting that unique challenges...AI cannot replicate the 'gut feelings' of human doctors - MIT study
Many technology companies are working on artificial intelligence systems that can analyse medical data to help diagnose or treat health problems. Such systems raise the question of whether this kind of technology can perform as well as a human...