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Talking Points
Mbeki and Trump: A tale of two denialist presidents
Conspiracy theories, disregard for science and grandiosity are hallmarks of how the US president has handled the coronavirus pandemic — and his words are...
SA hospitals will struggle to cope with a likely exponential infection rate
In just over a week, the number of South Africans who have contracted the COVID-19 coronavirus has gone from one to 16, to 116....
Older people not being considered in national and global planning on COVID-19
The largest numbers of deaths will occur among older people in low and middle-income countries, yet the global response neglects this group, write researchers...
South Korea and Italy are contrasting case studies in dealing with pandemic
In Italy, millions are locked down and more than 1,000 people have died from the coronavirus. In South Korea, hit by the disease at...
Strategic approach to COVID-19: Making sense of the 'knowns unknowns'
For a government's strategic planners, what is not known is as important as what is known, when it comes to thinking about the coronavirus,...
'No surprise' that COVID-19 is taking long to affect Africa
It's not under-reporting, nor genetic resistance. The delay in coronavirus infections on the continent have to do with Africa's economic relationship with the world,...
Italy shows that draconian quarantine measures don't work in the West
Quarantine in China is a world away from the less-absolute and rather haphazard measures of Italy, writes The Telegraph columnist Ross Clark.
Clark writes...
COVID-19 will shine spotlight on inequality in SA's health sector
In developed countries, the strongest predictors of dying from COVID-19 are advanced age and pre-existing health conditions, writes Dr Tom Boyles on Daily Maverick....
Budget 'protects' NHI from cuts but Treasury hints at implementation delay
The National Health Insurance (NHI) is protected from government-wide budget cuts, according to the National Treasury. But there is also a hint in the...
Spain and Portugal should reconsider 'turning death into a medical treatment'
Spain and Portugal are moving towards legalising euthanasia. They should think again, writes Kevin Yuill who teaches American studies at the University of Sunderland...
Doctors prone to moral distress when caring for cognitively-impaired elderly
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...
Two men, two losses, two eras
The loss of any loved one is painful and the loss of a spouse is profound. How it is endured depends also on the...
Drug trial consent: Ethically and legally sound without triggering a nocebo effect
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....
Many not grasping what NHI will entail – Afriforum
The travesty is not that income level determines access to quality healthcare, writes Dr Eugene Brink, of Afriforum, on Politicsweb. "The real travesty is...
CMS reversal on low-cost benefits amounts to 'Let them eat cake' — Agility CEO
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...
SA nurses: Underfunded, stressed, overworked and abused
A lack of government healthcare spending is key to understanding the "bad rap" given to nurses in South Africa, writes a former Canadian...
Why the courts are sceptical about sick notes
The High Court issuing of an stayed arrest warrant for former President Jacob Zuma over a questionable sick note is by no means a...
Misinformation making coronavirus fight 'even harder’ — WHO head
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...
First discovery of new strain HIV in 20 years
The first discovery in nearly 20 years of a rare new strain of HIV is important, but it does not signify a new...
NHI roadshows show 'poor health services horror' facing ordinary citizens
The National Health Insurance (NHI) roadshows currently crossing the country amply illustrate the horror ordinary citizens suffer under poorly delivered public health services, says...
The man who couldn't die – a personal reflection on euthanasia
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...
Revisit Bill in light of ruling on 'pay-as-you-go ' negligence settlements — editorial
The State Liability Amendment Bill, which has been "panned by critics and left gathering dust", needs to be updated in line with a recent...
Insulin price illustrates global web of patent laws protecting Big Pharma
The high price of insulin, which has reached as much as $450 per month has raised outrage across the US, writes Faisal Chaudhry, professor...
WHO 'between a rock and a hard place' over coronavirus
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...
SA Health Review: Too many benefit options 'confusing' for med scheme members
Market segmentation analyses suggest that medical scheme beneficiaries in South Africa are confused by too many benefit options; that choice sets facing different beneficiaries...
Inflammation's possible role in psychiatric disorders
Unlikely as it may seem, #inflammation has become a hashtag. Rather than simply being on our side, fighting infections and healing wounds, it turns...
A strategy for the millions of HIV-exposed but uninfected children
In 2018, 90% of the almost 15m children worldwide who were HIV-exposed and uninfected were from sub-Saharan Africa. Strikingly, half come just five African...
The 8 issues that will define SA healthcare in 2020
2020 will be a critically important year for healthcare in South Africa, writes Spotlight. It has formulated eight questions to set out what is...
CMS CEO defends 'rogue' outlawing of low-cost medical scheme plans
The outlawing of low-cost benefit options, intended to increase the affordability of schemes, by the Council for Medical Schemes was not a “rogue” action,...
Rwanda's cheap, generic morphine production model
By putting morphine production and distribution under government control a, Rwanda has become a model for Africa.
As thousands die from addiction in rich countries...
Public fixation on cancer 'cure' masks dramatic progress
The strong public focus on a “cure for cancer” is masking dramatic progress made in extending the lives of patients with advanced cancer and...
The complex story of 'medical xenophobia' in SA
The dominant narrative of "medical xenophobia" by SA health professionals against refugees and migrants is misleading, writes Kudakwashe Vanyoro of the University of the...
SA can afford health coverage for all — UK expert
It is "patently false" that SA cannot afford the reforms contemplated in the NHI Bill, writes Robert Yates, head of the Centre of Global...
Foundation calls for withdrawal of 'grossly inadequate' NHI Bill
It is not the principle of universal health coverage which is the problem, but the manner in which government is trying to implement it,...
Anglo American's extraordinary success in combating HIV/Aids
Mining giant Anglo American has done what much of the country, NGOs and the government cannot – persuade men to test for HIV and...
Trial places humans in suspended animation for the first time
Doctors have placed humans in suspended animation for the first time, as part of a trial in the US that aims to make it...
Discovery Health outlines its 'unequivocal' position on NHI
Much debate has taken place around the proposed National Health Insurance Bill (NHI), writes Discovery Health online. Our overall position on NHI is unequivocal.
We...
UK scientist with MND converts himself into a cyborg
A 61-year-old British scientist suffering from a life-threatening muscle wasting disease – motor neurone disease (MND) – has managed to convert himself fully into...
Medical sector in SA also touched by xenophobia
With sporadic and violent xenophobic attacks in South Africa making global and local headlines, the medical sector is also experiencing this worrying phenomenon, writes...
UCT med school has a culture of 'vicious victimhood', says academic
Racial friction in the third-year MBChB class at the University of Cape Town's medical school has spilled into public. David Benatar writes on Politicsweb...