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Talking Points
Controversy over NHI must be seen against the backdrop of SA in crisis
Louis Reynolds, associate professor affiliated to the paediatric department at the University of Cape Town and David Saunders, emeritus professor at the School of...
Should doctors should accept unvaccinated children as patients?
Four in 10 parents say they are very or somewhat likely to move their child to a different provider if their doctor sees families...
A tale of two hospitals — AfriForum's oversight visit to Limpopo
Two hospitals in Limpopo, part of an AfriForum watchdog visit, were not only widely disparate in physical condition, but in the attitude displayed.
Dr Eugene...
The NHI must be fought not only on the detail, but on the principle
The problem with the typical response to the proposed National Health Insurance system is that s to say “we agree with the principle, but...
WHO withdraws UK's 'measles free' status; PM blames social media
The UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said social media firms must share the responsibility for the rising spread of measles in the UK...
Health Compact 'waters down' access to affordable medicine
In May 2018, the Trade and Industry Department finally unveiled a new policy that would help to rein in pharmaceutical industry profiteering, but the...
Business Day blows away Mkhize's 'noble pipe dream'
Responding to last week’s report evaluating the National Health Insurance’s 10 pilot projects, Business Day writes in in a strongly worded editorial that it...
NHS patients increasingly opt to pay more for private GP visits
Complaints about UK National Health Service primary care are on the rise, with many patients opting for private GP consultations, reports The Daily Telegraph....
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)...