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Mkhize again moots a cap on medical claims, as they reach a record R100bn
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize is proposing a law that would put a cap on medical claims against the state after they shot up to...
Cuban medical training costs more than double than in SA
The Democratic Alliance (DA) says the annual cost of doctor training in Cuba is R331,000 per person – more than double what it would...
Discovery rejects 'flawed' race bias findings
Discovery Health has hit back at expert testimony before the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) which claimed widespread race bias "in the outcome" of...
Most of R11.4bn vaccine contract goes to state-backed developer
State-backed vaccine developer Biovac has secured the lion’s share of the government’s new R11.4bn contract to supply childhood vaccines, ending months of uncertainty about...
'Widespread and consistent' racial bias by top medical schemes
There was "widespread and consistent" evidence of discrimination in the outcome of investigations into fraud, waste and abuse by the top three medical schemes,...
Hawks clamp down on cannabis dispensaries
Canapax, South Africa’s first chain of franchised cannabis shops faces collapse after its founder was raided and arrested, reports the Saturday Star. The Hawks...
Motsoaledi testifies in businessman's murder case
Former Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has taken the stand in the Free State High Court and denied any involvement in the bribery and...
Top Medscheme job for man who interfered with RAF tender
After being found to have interfered in a tender process of more than R120m, the former CFO, third in command of the beleaguered Road...
Mediclinic takes a pragmatic position on NHI, says CEO
South Africa’s biggest private hospital group, Mediclinic International, is taking a pragmatic view on the government’s plans for universal health coverage, saying it poses...
CMS makes U-turn on large co-payments ban
The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has made a U-turn on its more than two-year process to ban large co-payments for medical scheme members...
GEMS' private healthcare benefit criticised in light of NHI
Trade union Solidarity has criticised the recent decision by the government’s biggest medical scheme to guarantee private hospital care to all its members, saying...
'Sidelined' National Health DG leaves by 'mutual agreement'
National Health Department director-general Malebona Precious Matsoso, who last year complained that she had been "completely sidelined" over the NHI Bill, by has left...
SAHPRA warning: Still a 'serious offence' to deal in cannabis
South Africa’s medicines regulator and the police have warned the public that marketing and selling cannabis products remains illegal, except for specific conditions permitted...
3 832 die in Gauteng’s public hospitals from 'negligent' SAEs
A total of 3 832 patients died last year in Gauteng public hospitals as a result of 10,741 serious adverse events (SAEs), which the...
Private sector asks SANC to be allowed to train more nurses
Private hospitals have appealed to the SA Nursing Council (SANC) to allow them to train more nurses, warning that the decision to restrict...
100,000 submissions on NHI but Parliament hasn't yet read one
The Portfolio Committee on Health has received about 100,000 submissions on the controversial National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, but is yet to read one....
Call for an end to Remunerative Work Outside Public Service by specialists
One in three specialists on the government's payroll also work in the private sector and abuse of the system is leaving state patients suffering,...
Doctors' union under administration following battle with SAMA
The South African Medical Association Trade Union (Samatu) has been placed under administration by the Labour Court following a protracted battle over the independence...
SA's radiologists flocking to write equivalency exams in UK, Australia and NZ
Up to 80% of South Africa's radiologists are considering emigrating, according to a new Radiology Society of SA survey, cited in the Financial Mail.
The...
The next step in implementing NHI…
The next step in the introduction of National Health Insurance will be to ‘operationalise’ the presidential health compact, the recommendations of the 2018 SA...
President orders SIU probe into corruption at SAHPRA
The Special Investigating Unit will probe allegations of maladministration at the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA), Fin24 reports President Cyril Ramaphosa's gazetted...
Medical schemes still short-changing members over PMBs – CMS
Medical schemes continue to fail to pay or short-pay members' claims for prescribed minimum benefits (PMBs), sparking almost half of all complaints to the...
Wits denies review of Cohen medical exam marking method
The University of the Witwatersrand has denied newspaper claims that it is reviewing the Cohen 60 marking assessment method, saying "no decision ... political...
Inquiry told schemes may have missed 'implicit racial bias'
While medical schemes were apparently “at pains” to avoid any obvious racial profiling, attempts to be colour blind may have had the unintended effect...
Provincial health departments owe R9.5bn in unpaid invoices
Government debt in unpaid business invoicse has increased since March, with provincial health departments the worst offenders, owing R9.5bn, says the Democratic Alliance.
Leon Schreiber,...
Practitioner burnout contributing to clinical errors — MPS survey
Over a third of both doctors and dentists suspect that emotional exhaustion has contributed to a clinical error, according to a Medical Protection Society...
Solidarity denounces SA Pharmacy Council's 'veiled threat' regarding NHI
The Solidarity Occupational Guild for Health Care Professionals has strongly denounced the South African Pharmacy Council’s “apparent veiled threat” as far as the National...
Aspen's 1,800% price-hike collusion windfall from NHS
SA pharma Aspen's admitted price collusion with two other pharams - for which it must pay the UK's National Health Service £8m (R149m) -...
Medical scheme membership becomes unaffordable to many
Medical scheme membership has become unaffordable for an increasing proportion of the population since 2012, as high unemployment and the rising cost of private...
CMSA investigation into 'shocking’ mass failures in surgery finals
The Colleges of Medicine of South Africa (CMSA) is to investigate the failure of all candidates from the universities of Wits, Cape Town, Pretoria,...
NHI also for foreign nationals and asylum seekers, says Mkhize
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize met with government officials, health practitioners and other guests in Pietermaritzburg on Friday to clarify issues related to the roll...
CMS suspends 5 after hotline claims of irregularities
The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) has suspended five officials over allegations of irregularities following anonymous tip-offs on its hotline. The medical schemes regulator...
SA's mental health facilities lack psychiatrists and psychologists – DA
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has revealed that almost 50% of South African hospitals that offer mental health services don’t have a psychiatrist available, while...
Oppositions slams government over 'looming nursing crisis'
The government's actions in shutting down a DA-sponsored parliamentary motion to discuss the looming nursing crisis indicates it has no plan to fix...
National Health Dept maintains hectic pace of NHI process
Despite legal and civil society calls for a more considered process with the NHI Bill, the National Health Department is maintaining a hectic pace,...
Gore: NHI won't shift Discovery's focus overseas
Discovery has managed to build itself into a global health care giant, making it less reliant on its South African business. But CEO Adrian...
SA Medical Association urges private hospitals to improve security
The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has urged private hospitals to pay to improve safety measures to protect the lives of patients and staff following...
Assisted death must be decriminalised – SA mental health practitioners
A group of South African mental health practitioners and psychologists from the Cape have called on government to decriminalise medically-approved assisted death. It is...
In camera hearings granted at CMS inquiry into racial profiling
Health professionals fearing intimidation by some medical aid schemes have been granted permission to give evidence in camera at the inquiry set up to...
Gauteng wants national government to finance 4 central hospitals
Gauteng premier David Makhura is lobbying the national Health Department to take over the financing of the province’s four central hospitals, arguing that they...