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SAMA gets tough after Cape Western branch ‘revolt’
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has suspended all 13 members of its Cape Western branch council for three years for ‘open revolt’ and...
Cancer diagnoses among younger people rising
Worldwide, cancer diagnoses are growing more common among people under 50, and it’s been estimated that by 2030, the number of these early-onset cancer...
Communities mourn murdered medics
The medical fraternity has been hit with more tragedy with the unrelated murders of two healthcare workers this week; a Hilton, KwaZulu-Natal paediatrician, Dr...
CMS seeks to place Netcare scheme under curatorship
In yet another clash with the healthcare industry, and following recent accusations of hostility and harassment, the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has applied...
‘Trial by media’, murder accused paediatrician claims in court
Five years after he was arrested, renowned paediatric surgeon Peter Beale took the stand in the Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) to answer to the...
Neurological conditions now the number one cause of disease globally
Neurological conditions are now the leading cause of ill health and disability worldwide, surpassing cardiovascular disease and leading to a call for a change...
Top court to decide on medical aid information disclosures
In a case that will have groundbreaking implications for medical schemes and its members, the Constitutional Court will today deliberate on the extent of...
Regulator abusing power and hostile towards medical schemes – BHF
In an unprecedented move, the Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) has sent a legal letter to the Council for Medical Schemes and the Health...
SA scientists warn of HIV-like obesity epidemic
With obesity rates rising at an alarming rate, according to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) study, South African researchers say the problem in...
Gauteng plan to review doctors' overtime pay policy a 'disaster'
The decision by the Gauteng Department of Health to “review” the policy of overtime for doctors – a requirement of the job to ensure...
More money to hire doctors but health sector still under pressure
The good news is that National Treasury has made good on Health Minister Joe Phaahla’s promise that the government would find the money to...
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...