Tuesday, 19 March, 2024
HomeFocus

Focus

Leading SA medical experts back euthanasia court challenge

Respected South African medical experts, including professors, oncologists, ethicists and anaesthesiologists, have thrown their weight behind a pending court challenge to legalise assisted suicide,...

About-turn as Phaahla says jobless doctors will be hired – by April

In a complete turnaround, and in contrast to previous statements and declarations by the National Department of Health that it has no money, on...

Judgment reserved in first NHI challenge

Government often gets criticised for a lack of planning, but is now under fire for doing planning, counsel for the government argued in the...

Doctors without jobs as health purse tightens

With the number of unemployed recently qualified doctors standing at almost 700, Health Minister Joe Phaahla this week said provinces are unable to afford...

First NHI legal challenge kicks off today as Ramaphosa prepares to sign Bill

With President Cyril Ramaphosa poised to sign the contentious National Health Insurance Bill into law before the upcoming May elections, the first of several...

Beale ignored advice not to operate on children, state claims

As the murder and fraud trial of Dr Peter Beale got underway this week, with the first state witness taking the stand, the prosecution...

Scientists hail breakthrough cancer treatments

In what are seen as giant steps in cancer treatment, experts have hailed an inexpensive blood test which could help diagnose even inaccessible brain...

SAMA urges law reform as paediatrician now faces murder charges

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has again called for law reform after the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) changed the charges against paediatric surgeon...

Big Pharma under pressure over drugs shortages and high costs

Amid a global shortage of key drugs, Big Pharma is coming under pressure in the US where the CEOs of two major firms have...

World leaders prepare for future ‘Disease X’ pandemic

Covid-19 may have settled into a new normal, with even the latest resurgence in cases with a dominant new strain showing no cause for...

Dismal scores for SA public health in global citizens survey

Only about one-third of South Africans have confidence in the overall health system, including primary public services such as mental health, maternity and paediatrics,...

Government stands firm against avalanche of NHI backlash

While legal challenges are being lined up against the National Health Insurance Bill – which last week passed through the final parliamentary steps –...

NHI now closer to becoming law after passing NCOP hurdle

South Africa is one step closer to implementing the National Health Insurance (NHI) system, after the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) voted in favour...

Call for HIV prevention strategies to evolve as risk perceptions change

The irony of the success of the decades-long focus on HIV/Aids treatment is that the disease is no longer seen as high-risk, especially among...

NHI Bill vote delayed as doctors and business urge amendments

A crucial vote on the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill was postponed yesterday, bringing relief to business groups and health professionals who had urged...

60m children who missed jabs in pandemic now at risk of killer diseases

Large outbreaks of diseases that mainly kill children are spreading around the world, a grim legacy of disruptions to health systems during the Covid-19...

One step closer for NHI as NCOP committee adopts Bill, unchanged

Business groups which were hoping that the controversial NHI Bill clause relating to the role of medical schemes would be tweaked, were disappointed this...

Weight-loss drugs frenzy risks return of body size stigma

As another weight-loss drug was this week approved in the US, adding to the tsunami of demand for the medicines, there is concern that...

Evolving heart failure risk factors in Africa calls for management rethink

Heart failure prevention and management requires a context-driven approach in African countries where it is an evolving syndrome with changing predictive risk factors, and...

Hospital CEOs warn of cash run-out as budget cuts bite

The CEOs of the Western Cape’s three academic hospitals have warned that, because of severe funding cuts, they could run out of cash in...

How many more Matthew Lanis are dishing out fake medical advice?

The relative ease with which bogus Tiktok doctor Matthew Bongani Lani managed to convince scores of followers for years that he was a qualified...

Air pollution linked to diabetes in landmark Indian study

A seven-year study of 12 000 residents of Delhi and Chennai – the first of its kind in the country – has found links between...

J&J drops price of lifesaver TB drug

After unprecedented intervention by the Competition Commission and an outcry over Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) alleged bullying tactics over the price of key medicines,...

Key healthcare players flag NHI risk

Big players in the healthcare industry have flagged concerns about the NHI in their latest annual reports, raising the impact of the scheme as...

RAF refuses to budge on medical aid claims despite top court's ruling

Despite a Constitutional Court ruling last week compelling the Road Accident Fund to resume and honour payment of claims lodged on behalf of medical...

Vaping scourge among children prompts long-term health effects study

Vaping has become a scourge among children that’s as alarming as cigarette smoking used to be, both in SA and worldwide, with experts saying...

CMS backtracks on medical aids increase notices

After its unexpected announcement demanding medical aids withdraw notices of their planned premiums and packages for next year, the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS)...

Top health experts rally behind ousted Eastern Cape Health boss

A group of doctors and activists has launched a campaign and signed a petition demanding the reinstatement of Eastern Cape Health HoD Rolene Wagner,...

State's case against 'certificate of need' ruling delayed

The decision on whether certain sections of the National Health Insurance Act are unconstitutional now rests with the Constitutional Court following the Gauteng High Court’s...

CMS anger over claim it’s depriving South Africans of basic private healthcare

The medical regulator has reacted sharply to an accusation at the Board of Healthcare Funders conference that its “prevarication and stalling” over basic medical...

Vibrators: From sex toys to medical devices

The stigma around vibrators should be removed and they should no longer be viewed merely as sexual objects, writes MedPage Today. A review of...

Mediclinic Group’s grave warnings to Parliament over NHI Bill

Private hospital group Mediclinic warned in its submission to Parliament’s Health portfolio committee that the proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) system may be unconstitutional,...

Mandatory vaccinations imminent in South Africa

Following the emergence of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus and the slower than anticipated South African take-up of vaccinations, there has been...

New international approaches to drug use needed – Lancet series

A new international approaches to drug use is needed, according to a landmark series of papers led by researchers from the National Drug and...

Up in smoke – Are we wrong about the dangers of vaping?

Since vaping became a popular alternative to smoking, the big tobacco companies have been moving into the market. But do we know enough about...

Rising problematic use in US states where marijuana is legal

Problematic use of marijuana among adolescents and adults increased after legalisation of recreational marijuana use, according to a study from the New York University Grossman School...

UK takes action on ‘addictive’ computer games and technologies

A hard-hitting UK parliamentary report into immersive and addictive technologies has proposed that the games industry take responsibility for protecting players against potentials harms....

Calls for doctor action as vaping deaths, lung injuries escalate

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been preparing guidance for doctors on vaping, as an outbreak of injury linked to e-cigarettes escalates....

Confusing science, disparate international responses to e-cigarettes

While America clamps down on vaping, India bans e-cigarettes and Juul vanishes from online Chinese stores, Europehas been more positive about vaping and Britain has embraced it in the fight against cigarette smoking. The...

Prescription drug poses new threat to South African youths

South African learners turn to anti-anxiety medication to manage stress but punishment remains the state’s primary intervention, writes Mark Hunter for the social justice...