Talking Points
Doctors prone to moral distress when caring for cognitively-impaired elderly
March 4th, 2020 Compromised professional integrity, which correlates with burnout and depression, is often experienced by doctors treating older, cognitively-impaired adults who have surrogate decision-makers, a US study found. As defined in the study,...
Two men, two losses, two eras
February 26th, 2020 The loss of any loved one is painful and the loss of a spouse is profound. How it is endured depends also on the social, legal and political context in which loss happens, writes Chris Beyrer, a former International AIDS society president, of the...
Drug trial consent: Ethically and legally sound without triggering a nocebo effect
February 26th, 2020 Patients need to be able to make informed consent when taking part in drug trials, writes University of Oxford's Jeremy Howick in The Conversation. But information must be provided in a way that doesn't scare them off unnecessarily. Jeremy...
Many not grasping what NHI will entail – Afriforum
February 26th, 2020 The travesty is not that income level determines access to quality healthcare, writes Dr Eugene Brink, of Afriforum, on Politicsweb. "The real travesty is that the ANC is trying to cover up its failures with the promise of something that cannot be...
CMS reversal on low-cost benefits amounts to 'Let them eat cake' — Agility CEO
February 19th, 2020 The Council for Medical Schemes' abrupt prohibition of low-cost benefit options will have "far-reaching and harmful effects, not least on the poor which these regulations claim to champion", writes Patrick Masobe, founding CEO of the CMS and...
SA nurses: Underfunded, stressed, overworked and abused
February 19th, 2020 A lack of government healthcare spending is key to understanding the "bad rap" given to nurses in South Africa, writes a former Canadian nursing union economist in Daily Maverick. South African nurses hold 81% of filled professional positions...
Why the courts are sceptical about sick notes
February 12th, 2020 The High Court issuing of an stayed arrest warrant for former President Jacob Zuma over a questionable sick note is by no means a first time the courts have looked sceptically at claims of illness, writes Pierre de Vos on his Constitutionally...
Misinformation making coronavirus fight 'even harder’ — WHO head
February 12th, 2020 World Health Organisation (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says that misinformation is "making the work of our heroic workers even harder". "I would also like to speak briefly about the importance of facts, not fear," Tedros is...
First discovery of new strain HIV in 20 years
February 12th, 2020 The first discovery in nearly 20 years of a rare new strain of HIV is important, but it does not signify a new public health threat, writes Linda-Gail Bekker of the University of Cape Town in The Conversation. The discovery of a rare new strain...
NHI roadshows show 'poor health services horror' facing ordinary citizens
February 12th, 2020 The National Health Insurance (NHI) roadshows currently crossing the country amply illustrate the horror ordinary citizens suffer under poorly delivered public health services, says Michael Settas of the Free Market Foundation’s Health Policy...
The man who couldn't die - a personal reflection on euthanasia
February 5th, 2020 Over the past decade, an often-emotional public debate on the possible legalisation of euthanasia has wracked South Africa. Professor Pieter Carstens of the University of Pretoria recounts his personal journey to making the ultimate personal...
Revisit Bill in light of ruling on 'pay-as-you-go ' negligence settlements — editorial
February 5th, 2020 The State Liability Amendment Bill, which has been "panned by critics and left gathering dust", needs to be updated in line with a recent precedent-setting High Court judgment, writes Business Day in an editorial. Commenting on last week's...
Insulin price illustrates global web of patent laws protecting Big Pharma
February 5th, 2020 The high price of insulin, which has reached as much as $450 per month has raised outrage across the US, writes Faisal Chaudhry, professor of law, University of Dayton in The Conversation. He writes that Presidential candidate, Senator Bernie...
WHO 'between a rock and a hard place' over coronavirus
January 29th, 2020 Before the World Health Organisation dares declare a the coronavirus a global emergency, it must weigh scientific imperatives against China's political sensitivities, writes MedicalBrief. Most of the WHO criteria for declaring a global emergency...
SA Health Review: Too many benefit options 'confusing' for med scheme members
January 29th, 2020 Market segmentation analyses suggest that medical scheme beneficiaries in South Africa are confused by too many benefit options; that choice sets facing different beneficiaries are not the same; and that information is not equally accessible....