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Talking Points
Patients are bearing the brunt of SA's inadequate health services
Patients continue to bear the brunt of inadequate health services, as some provinces reveal their health plans over the next financial year, says a...
Revised NHI Bill raises more questions than gives answers
Government is pushing through a revised National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill, which is leaving analysts and medical professionals with more questions than answers –...
DRC Ebola outbreak is 'nothing short of a perfect storm’ — Brookings
The latest Ebola outbreak – which began in August 2018 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – is nothing short of a perfect...
It's time to provide better healthcare to LGBT+ people
It’s time for healthcare to be a better LGBT+ ally, writes Duncan Jarvies, multimedia editor at The BMJ.
Jarvies writes:
Women who go on to identify...
High levels of premium inflation 'unavoidable', says Discovery CEO
High premium inflation is unavoidable given ageing membership, a rise in chronic diseases, new medical technology and a government-imposed anti-selection policy, says Dr Jonathan Broomberg,...
SA's big public hospitals should be freed of provincial health depts
SA's public hospitals should be independent entities, removed from the control of under-skilled, understaffed and under-resourced provincial health departments, writes William Gumede of Wits University,...
Popular misconceptions about 'good bacteria' and 'good hygiene'
The Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH) said incorrect theories which became popular in the 1990s were fuelling confusion and unhygienic habits among subsequent...
Medical school exam-rigging ended, women outperform men
Women have performed better than men in entrance exams to a medical school in Japan since it dropped its policy of tampering with results...
Vaccines and the 'complacency factor’ — Wellcome survey
Developed countries, like France, have the lowest levels of trust in vaccines, while poorer countries - where people see the human cost of not...
PREDICT is in search of the Holy Grail of personalised nutrition
PREDICT, a collaboration between King's College London, Harvard and Stanford in the US – is a study to measure thousands of people’s responses to...
'I'm having a Caesarean and you're all invited'
For the women of Brazil's elite, Caesarean sections have long been a status symbol, reports The Washington Post. Now, the phenomenon has inspired an...
Master athletes demonstrate what is physically possible in later life
A growing band of of "master athletes" demonstrate that "we often confuse the effects of inactivity with the ageing process itself", write Stephen Harridge and Norman...
Three studies nudging the frontiers of HIV prevention
There are an estimated 5,000 new HIV transmissions every day. About 70% of the 37m people living with HIV globally are in sub-Saharan Africa....
Brazil finds it difficult to replace Cuban doctors
Six months after Brazil's new president, Jair Bolsonaro, triggered Cuba's withdrawal of more than 8,000 medical doctors it had deployed to that country, Brazil...
NHI — a funding model masquerading as a delivery system
National Health Insurance (NHI) is one of the most misunderstood terms in healthcare in South Africa. Professor Manie de Klerk, head of the University...
Motsoaledi era: HIV/Aids success but public healthcare failures
The Motsoaledi years can broadly be judged on two fronts, the response to the HIV epidemic and the functioning of the public healthcare system...
Crowdfunding treatment — when survival is a popularity contest
It's increasingly popular to try to fund expensive medical treatments — or alternative therapies — by appealing online for donations. It can be a...
Sean Davison: 'A victim of a failure of SA's legal process'
Professor Sean Davison, charged on three counts of premeditated murder for allegedly assisting three people with debilitating physical conditions but mentally competent, and at...
The 'unprofessional conduct' implications of poor administration
Law partner Raizel Davidow, writing for Medicalbrief, asks whether the poor handling of the administrative side of the practice lead a medical practitioner to...
The thorny issue of pregnancy and medical scheme waiting periods
The practice of medical schemes excluding pre-existing conditions like pregnancy comes under fire from Fatima Hassan, executive director of the Open Society Foundation SA,...
'I’m afraid I have some bad news…'
Both researchers and medical schools have tried to figure out how doctors should communicate with patients to deliver hard-to-swallow information. There is little evidence that...
Anti-vaxxers target doctors on social media and rating websites
More doctors are being attacked online for recommending parents vaccinate their children as part of a coordinated effort by anti-vaccine groups. Fictitious patient reviews...
Africa's donkeys being slaughtered for traditional Chinese medicine
Ejiao is the name of a traditional Chinese medicine that supposedly treats anaemia, reproductive issues and insomnia – though the alleged medicinal properties are...
Once taboo questions about the impacts of gender transition examined
The European Network for the Investigation of Gender Incongruence (ENIGI) is the largest study of people who have gone through the transgendering process, providing data...
'Trading on hope’ — Fertility clinics exploit older women
Older women are being exploited by IVF clinics “trading on hope”, the UK’s fertility watchdog has warned.
The Daily Telegraph quotes Sally Cheshire, chair of...
What it's like waking up during surgery
There is now evidence that around 5% of people may wake up on the operating table, according to a report on Wellcome's Mosaic site....
Doctors and nurses abandon Romania for better paid EU jobs
Despite doubling salaries, Romania has lost 43,000 doctors and more than a fifth of its population since joining the European Union in 2007, reports...
Insurance industry scrambles to respond to rise in medical malpractice claims
The growth in medical malpractice litigation has seen an array of new insurance products come onto the market, writes Stephen Coan for MedicalBrief.
“An explosion”...
NGOs want drug pricing transparency, slate govt over 'pharma friendly’ policies
Delegates from governments and civil society organisations, attending a global forum on fair pricing and access to medicines, have called for greater transparency around...
SA one of unhealthiest countries on earth because of primary healthcare failure
By some measures – healthy life expectancy, obesity and depression, among others – South Africa is the unhealthiest country on earth, writes Bob Mash,...
WHO criticised over not declaring public health emergency in DRC
The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo does not constitute a public health emergency of international concern. CNN reports that this is...
May 8: Heavenly promises but the devil is in the details
Health-e News unpacks the health care promises of the major parties in the run-up to May 8's general election.
The ANC’s much-contested National Health Insurance (NHI)...
Fast and deadly spread of C.auris hits SA also
A drug-resistant fungus called Candida auris, which preys on people with weakened immune systems, is quietly spreading across the globe, reports The New York...
Venezuela health system in a state of 'utter collapse’ — Human Rights Watch
The UN is being urged to declare a full-scale humanitarian emergency in Venezuela in the light of the “utter collapse” of its health system...
R197m private healthcare inquiry has been a 'red herring’ — FMF
The government's private health market inquiry was a red herring intended to create a veneer of legitimacy for further regulation, in preparation of introducing its...
Sugar industry shouldn't blame woes on sugar tax — Treasury
It is premature for the sugar industry to claim that the sugary drinks tax is causing job losses, according to the Treasury, writes Health-e News. The South...
Zuma era corruption continues in provincial health
Many of SA's provincial departments of health are still overrun with people appointed with little purpose other than to nod through corrupt deals. Spotlight...
SA's liberal abortion laws thwarted by social stigma
The SA health service offers free, legal abortions. So why, asks Voice of America, are more than half of abortions in the country illegal,...
Top scientists clash over mooted CRISPR moratorium
A group of ethicists and scientists – including some of the inventors of CRISPR – have called for a moratorium on all clinical uses...
SA constitution ‘a basis’ for euthanasia — Human Rights Commission head
Rights to dignity and ‘security in and control over their body’, both entrenched in the Bill of Rights, clearly provide a basis for the...