Affordable Medical Aids

 

MEDICAL AIDS News:- Spectramed and Resolution Health merge

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Spectramed Medical Scheme and Resolution Health Medical Scheme (Resolution Health) have merged to form Health Squared Medical Scheme, as from 1 January 2019.

Independent auditors confirmed that 93% of members voted for the merger, and the schemes have extensively engaged with the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) and, with their involvement, the merger process is now subject to final approval by the CMS and Competition Commission.

Health Squared will be administered by Agility Health, which is currently the managed care provider and administrator for both Spectramed and Resolution Health.

The launch of Health Squared forms part of an overall strategy to protect the interests of members while strengthening the service offering in the context of future developments in the South African healthcare landscape.

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Witness in gruesome Mooinooi murders (Anisha and Joey Van Niekerk) killed in accident

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A state witness in the gruesome Mooinooi murder case was killed in ‘n motorbike accident in Tzaneen on Saturday.
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The question on everybody’s mind is:- How will the State Liability Amendment Bill affect victims?

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According to Kirstie Haslam, partner at DSC Attorneys, the proposed State Liability Amendment Bill which the government is seeking to pass, will have consequences for medical malpractice claimants, as it aims to both limit and structure the payment of damages where a patient has been a victim at a State hospital…

Haslam believes that the move from the lump sum system to the proposed periodic system is unworkable.

“The principle difficulty with the introduction of this Bill is that it is nothing more than a stop-gap interim solution pending possible greater legislative reform,” she explains. “As matters stand, the South African Law Reform Commission is undertaking an extensive investigation into what it terms “medico-legal claims” and in that context this Bill – which has a potentially massive impact on victims of medical malpractice perpetrated in State-run institutions, which would be mostly the poor – is premature.”

Administrative
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And the money just keep rolling in:- R20 million payday for Discovery CEO Adrian Gore

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Insurance and finance group Discovery has published its integrated annual report for 2018, revealing what its top executives got paid for the year.

Group CEO, Adrian Gore, was rewarded with a total package of R19.8 million, including a R6.6 million basic salary, a bonus of R7.8 million, long-term incentives of R4.1 million and other benefits of R1 million and R313,000.

Gore’s incentives were largely based on the handling of Discovery Bank, which is set to launch as South Africa’s next big full service bank in the coming months. He also saw that the group hit its growth targets and ran a profitable business, Discovery said.

Group financial director, Deon Viljoen earned a R10.2 million total package, while CEO of Discovery Life Hylton Kallner was the highest-paid exec with a total package of R29.2 million.

Kallner’s huge payday was due to a R17.6 million LTI payout, which was as a result of the vesting of a three-year LTI scheme.

CEO of Discovery Hea
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Good news for Cape Town:- The old Conradie Hospital earmarked for R3 billion development

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The Conradie Hospital was opened in 1938 and was, at one stage, one of the top treatment centres for Spinal Neurodegenerative Disease.

The City of Cape Town has prioritised the development of the old Conradie Hospital precinct which has lain dormant for more than 16 years.

The ‘Conradie Better Living Model’ is a redevelopment initiative undertaken by the Western Cape Government to provide affordable housing to locals. The dilapidated and disused area, which is 22 hectares in size, is due to be converted into an integrated, sustainable, and affordable residentially-led, mixed-use neighbourhood.

Conradie Hospital grounds get a new lease on life
The abandoned Conradie Hospital, which is nestled between Thornton and Pinelands, will be revitalised by the construction of 3602 houses‚ two schools and a commercial centre.

For the past 16 years, the derelict Conradie Hospital has been a thorn in the side of local government and nearby residen
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The ageing health infrastructure to receive urgent attention

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The South African government has committed to upgrading and maintaining the ageing and dilapidated infrastructure at public healthcare facilities.

Speaking at the two-day Presidential Health Summit held in Boksburg, Deputy President David Mabuza said it was agreed that in the context of fiscal constraints, provinces will be expected to prioritise their financial resource allocations in a manner that ensures that the delivery of healthcare is not compromised.

“More importantly, this summit pointed out that we need to develop a sustainable financing model for our health system. We will commence with this task immediately.

“National Treasury will be seized with this task to ensure that this model is finalised within a short space of time.”

“We will seek to draw on this compact as we fast-track the licensing of all health facilities in readiness for implementation of the NHI. It has drawn together a remarkable cross section of South Africans – and many
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What is the road ahead for the pharma industry in South Africa

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In recent years, South Africa’s pharmaceutical industry has increasingly shifted its focus to become more patient-centric in everything that it does.

However, in the current challenging economy, building on this positive change and delivering greater results for consumers is becoming ever more challenging. Companies operating in this sector will therefore need to adapt and embrace new strategies.

The road ahead for the pharma industry
No one knows this better than industry veteran, Jacques van Staden, COO of Cipla South Africa (Pty) Limited (“Cipla Medpro”), wholly-owned subsidiary of Cipla Limited, India (“Cipla”). With a career spanning more than 25 years, Van Staden firmly believes that pharmaceutical businesses will need to make significant changes to the way that they view opportunities and focus their efforts if they are to survive in the years to come. We sat down with Van Staden to hear more about the changes, challenges and opp
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Cause of Alzheimer’s disease:- Mounting evidence that herpes virus is a cause

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Successful prevention of Alzheimer’s disease by use of specific anti-herpes agents has now been demonstrated in a large-scale population study in Taiwan.

More than 30 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer’s disease – the most common form of dementia. Unfortunately, there is no cure, only drugs to ease the symptoms. However, my latest review, suggests a way to treat the disease. I found the strongest evidence yet that the herpes virus is a cause of Alzheimer’s, suggesting that effective and safe antiviral drugs might be able to treat the disease. We might even be able to vaccinate our children against it.

The link between Alzheimer’s disease and herpes
The virus implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1), is better known for causing cold sores. It infects most people in infancy and then remains dormant in the peripheral nervous system (the part of the nervous system that isn’t the brain and the sp
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New Study Shows Escalating civil cases against private hospitals due to nursing malpractice

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Nursing malpractice has resulted in a significant rise in civil claims against private hospitals, according to a study by Professor Ethelwynn Stellenberg of the Department of Nursing and Midwifery at Stellenbosch University’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences (FMHS).

“The quality of care is declining in both the state and private sectors. The cost of clinical mistakes is just too high.” It is not only the increase in the number of claims that is troubling, but also the scale, with many amounting to pay outs of millions of rand. In the end these costs are passed on to the consumer,” she says.

Failure to follow guidelines and poor monitoring of patients are contributing factors in these malpractice cases. She finds it concerning that most of these cases are settled quietly, which means that important information does not reach the people who use private hospitals.

The study mainly focused on Gauteng and the Western Cape, where the biggest hospitals
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The big question is:- Why medical devices should carry warranties

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South Africa has a unique opportunity to become the global leader in the regulation of warranties for medical devices.

Throughout the world, legal cases against pharmaceutical companies that manufacture medical devices such as implants for treatment of specific conditions are on the increase, as patients are not always properly informed about how the device works, what its intended purpose is, and, most importantly, how long it will work effectively.

A major problem leading to the increasing law suits stems from a lack of information for patients on what to expect from a product and the patient’s own, sometimes unrealistic, expectations.

When it comes to consumer products – which are covered in South Africa by the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) – different remedies are available for consumers if they are unhappy with the product. For example, a consumer buys a product or pays for a service. The manufacturer guarantees that the product should work as inten
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Wonderful News:- R500m to recruit health professionals, buy beds and linen

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Government will reprioritise funds to make R350m available to recruit new health professionals, says Finance Minister Tito Mboweni.

The Minister tabled the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in the National Assembly on Wednesday.

“Access to healthcare services is enshrined in our Constitution and in our Bill of Rights. We will continue to work closely with the national Department of Health and other role players to ensure that the gradual phased implementation of the National Health Insurance is adequately financed.

“We are immediately reprioritising R350m to recruit in excess of 2,000 health professionals into public health facilities,” he said.

Mboweni said a further reprioritisation of funds will avail R150m to be used to purchase beds and linen for hospitals where the need is more dire.

These two interventions will build on the Presidential Health Summit convened last weekend, which has brought a new focus to improving the quality of healthcar
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Will the NHI just be another state-owned enterprise?

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A report by organisations collaborating under the umbrella of the People’s Health Movement South Africa was submitted to the UN Committee on Cultural, Economic and Social Rights (ICESER), interrogating, among other things the flaws and pitfalls of the country’s National Health Insurance (NHI) proposal.

“The international human rights system does not have the teeth of a legal process but it is quite powerful if the committee recommends, for example, stronger oversight over mental health services, or greater resources. So, we are interested in what their recommendations will be based on their interrogation of the report,” one of the authors, Professor Leslie London from the School of Public Health and Family Medicine at UCT says.

NHI

About a third of the health movement’s report focused on the National Health Insurance (NHI) proposal. Areas of concern flagged include the absence of any reference to preventative health; capacity and resourc
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Looking Into Assisted Dying: South African law and the right to die on your terms

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Assisted dying is in the headlines again after euthanasia advocate Sean Davison was arrested in September 2018 on a charge of murder, relating to helping a friend die.

Across the world, assisted dying, often crudely called “assisted suicide” is becoming part of the discourse. The matters is back in focus in South Africa following the arrest of euthanasia advocate Sean Davison on a charge of murder in September 2018. Davison was arrested for helping his terminally ill mother die in 2006.

In her book Ending Life. Ethics and the Way We Die (2005), philosopher Margaret P. Battin shares this story from the Netherlands.

“Two friends, old sailing buddies, are planning a sailing trip in the North Sea later in the year, and they are discussing possible dates. “How about July 21st?” says Willem. “The sea will be calm, the moon bright, and there’s a music festival on the coast of Denmark we could visit.” “Sounds great,” answers Joost, “I’d love to
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The National Health Insurance (NHI): Who’s in, who’s out and how much will it cost

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The NHI was the centre of this weekend’s Presidential Health Summit. Now the pressure is mounting for Treasury to figure out how to fund it.

The health system is in crisis, government officials admit. Now, they have just weeks to produce an initial plan on how to fix it ahead of introducing a National Health Insurance (NHI), Deputy President David Mabuza revealed this weekend.

With its namesake, President Cyril Ramaphosa was absent from this weekend’s Presidential Health Summit. The gathering drew more than 100 representatives from civil society, government, unions, academia and the private sector. Prior to the event, that was held in Boksburg. each delegate received a 21-page concept note outlining challenges within the health system. including corruption and how the NHI will incorporate the private sector.

Solutions proposed during the meeting will now form the basis for wider consultation ahead of a public plan to turn the health system. The strategy i
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Kinkhoes (whooping cough) raak woes in die Baai – Port Elizabet

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HET jou kind griepsimptome met veral ’n hoes wat langer as twee weke aanhou?

Dan moedig die provinsiale departement van gesondheid ouers aan om hulle kinders so gou moontlik na ’n dokter of kliniek te neem.

Lwandile Sicwetsha, provinsiale woordvoerder, het die uitbreking bevestig van Bordetella pertussis, die bakterie wat kinkhoes veroorsaak.

Dit het reeds die lewe van ’n maand oue baba geëis.

Sedert die begin van die jaar tot 15 Oktober is 26 voorvalle in die Baai aangemeld – 13 by privaat gesondheids­instansies en 13 by staatshospitale.

Asemhaling

Laas jaar is net vyf gevalle van kinkhoes in die Baai aangemeld.

Sicwetsha sê kinkhoes tas meestal babas jonger as drie maande aan.

Die simptome van kinkhoes sluit grieperigheid in en ’n hoes wat langer as twee weke aanhou, asook moeilike asemhaling.

Die siekte kan genees word as dit vroeg opgespoor word.

Sicwetsha sê as babas vir hul inentings geneem word, vermin
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