Health

 

We must ensure new food retail technologies are to better health pathways not barriers

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Imagine a world where smart pantries sense when you are running out of your favourite food and order more of it, without you lifting a finger. Where intelligent robots roam your grocery store, ever at your service. Where dynamic food pricing changes minute-to-minute depending on the weather outside, or what the store down the road is offering.

It may sound like a seismic shift in our food retail world, but these technological frontiers are real and the food sector is gearing up in a big way.

What is less certain is what impact such changes will have on our health. Just as entrepreneurs must capitalise on future trends when building a business, health professionals must delve into the future of retail technology to identify barriers and opportunities for the achievement of good health.

The retail technology frontier is already here

Amazon is one company leading the way with its nascent attempts to revolutionise convenient shopping.

Amazo
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North West Health MEC working to recoup Mediosa money

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The North West Health MEC, Dr Magome Masike, says the department is working towards recouping taxpayers’ money lost to mobile clinic, Mediosa.

“First, the company sent us an invoice of R24m out of the R30m pre-payment. We need to satisfy ourselves that the [work for] R24m has been done by going through the report, which goes up to the end of January 2018.

“Then we still need a report for February 2018, which covers the work done for the outstanding R6m. Until we satisfy ourselves with the work that has been done, we are not settled with Mediosa,” said the MEC.

According to Masike, the company recently sent out tow trucks to collect the mobile health units stationed at Madibogo in the Ratlou sub-district and Kagisano Molopo respectively.

With plans underway to recoup the lost tax money, Masike raised concerns about the claims made by Mediosa about the number of patients serviced.

“My concern is the number of people that Mediosa is claiming to have
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How to choose a medical aid

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Most medical schemes have launched their benefits and contributions for 2017 and it is the time when you should be re-looking at your existing medical aid cover or, if you are wanting to join a scheme, investigating which one suits you best.

The medical aid landscape can be tricky to navigate so it is important to compare options and schemes to ensure you find a medical aid that works for you and your family’s health and is within your budget.

Dr Bobby Ramasia, Principal Executive Officer of Bonitas Medical Fund, helps guide you through choosing the best plan, whether it’s through the open market or through an employer.

If you are already on a medical aid scheme

Before you choose the best medical aid option, you need an idea of what your typical health care costs are.

You should also consider the following for you and your dependants over the past twelve months:

How much you spent on day-to-day healthcare expenses
Where you or an
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South African Medical Association takes issue with Competition Commission findings

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The South African Medical Association (Sama) believes that the Competition Commission Health Market Inquiry (HMI) provisional report is faulty in its findings, particularly that doctors increase demand for unnecessary services.

In a statement, the association says that in light of the fact that the investigation took almost four years to complete and runs to hundreds of pages, it is, on first review, somewhat disappointed in the overall analysis of the private healthcare sector.

Doctor-induced moral hazard

Sama is particularly concerned about the allegations that doctors increase demand of unnecessary services, including increased admissions to hospitals, says chairperson, Dr Mzukisi Grootboom.

Looking for a affordable Medical Aid or Hospital Plan, just click here Medical Aid or just send your Name, surname, age and email address to
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‘Private healthcare not affordable, even for people who are supposedly rich’

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The findings of the Competition Commission’s Health Market Inquiry released today reveal what Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says he already knew – that private healthcare has become so exorbitantly expensive, even those on medical aid can’t afford it.

Moreover, the commission found – during its more than four-year-long investigation – that the market was characterised by high and rising costs of healthcare and medical scheme cover, disempowered and uninformed consumers, and a general absence of value-based purchasing.

“That private healthcare has become costlier and costlier has been proven today, some of us knew it long ago back in 2009 that private healthcare no longer affordable, even for people who are supposedly rich who are on medical aid can’t afford it,” Motsoaledi said at the briefing held in Sandton to announce the release of the much anticipated provisional report.

According to the inquiry’s chairperson, former Chief Justice, Sa
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The most expensive and cheapest medical aids in SA for 2017

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The latest GTC Medical Aid Survey for 2017 has been released, which compares local medical aid schemes on cost to members across various levels of cover.

According to GTC, medical aids are complicated schemes, and comparing them is an almost impossible task; however it has developed a review process that compares schemes across specific categories, rather than on specific services offered.

For its 2017 review, GTC screened 23 medical aids (22 open and 1 closed scheme) offering 144 plans.

The rankings in the GTC Medical Aid Survey are based on the concept of a total cost or a risk rating for each medical aid plan.

This risk rating is derived from a risk premium, which represents the premium paid monthly minus the allocation to what is known as the ‘savings’ or out-of-hospital account.

“This approach removes any differences in personal circumstances, priorities or behaviours that may influence an individual’ eventual healthcare costs,” the group said.

The savi
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Woolworths Recalls Frozen Rice Mix Amid Listeria Concerns

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Woolworths Recalls Frozen Rice Mix Amid Listeria Concerns

Woolworths has withdrawn a Frozen Savoury Rice Mix following a worldwide product recall issued by the Hungarian food safety agency. The rice mix contains frozen sweetcorn sourced from the Greenyard Factory in Hungary. The factory has been implicated as the potential source of a listeria outbreak in Europe. The food chain says this is a..
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You might ask the following question regarding the NHI:- Will I be able to opt out of the NHI?

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In June, the health minister released the long-awaited National Health Insurance Bill. What does it mean to you and your medical aid? We tell you.

1. Will you be able to say “thanks, but no thanks”?

If the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill is passed in its current form, the NHI will be compulsory, regardless of whether you also belong to a private medical aid. So, opting out won’t be possible. The Bill says the NHI, which will be like a big, state-funded medical scheme, will be a free service, but it doesn’t tell us what benefits will be covered, how the scheme will be paid for or how much it will cost.

2. When will the NHI start, and, will it actually happen?

The NHI Bill says the scheme will be implemented in three phases — we’re currently in the second phase (2017 – 2022), during which NHI legislation has to be developed and the NHI fund has to be established. During the last phase, from 2022 – 2026, Cabinet
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Health Market Inquiry:- calls for medical aid schemes to be transparent

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A report by the Health Market Inquiry (HMI) looking into the private healthcare industry has recommended that there be increased transparency and improved competition.

The HMI released its provisional report on Thursday after hearing evidence from a number of stakeholders in the past three years.

The inquiry, which is chaired by the ex-Chief Justice, Sandile Ngcobo, was set up to look into the costs of healthcare and the operations of medical schemes.

“Overall we recommend changes to the way scheme options are structured to increase comparability between schemes and increase competition in that market.

Looking for a affordable Medical Aid or Hospital Plan, just click here Medical Aid or just send your Name, surname, age and email address to 082 738 5586

“A system to increase transparency on health outcomes to allow for value purch
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Departement van Gesondheid het Kuba se hulp ingeroep met NGV

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Aaron Motsoaledi het aangekondig dat die Departement van Gesondheid gebruik gaan maak van die bykans 250 “dokters” wat sopas teruggekeer het vanuit Kuba na hul opleiding aldaar.

Hierdie pas afgestudeerde en nat agter die ore dokters sonder enige ondervinding, gaan nou glo help om die voorgestelde abortiewe Nasionale Gesondheid Versekering van die grond te kry.

Diegene wat nou terug keer moet, twee jaar hul “Ramahosa” diens verrig in staatshospitale, en sal nog ‘n jaar van studie aan ‘n SA universiteit moet doen voordat hulle gemeenskapswerk gaan verrig.

Kenners is skepties oor die “dokters” se opleiding en voel dat hul nie medies gaan studeer het nie maar bloot opleiding ontvang het van Kubaanse dokters. ‘n Paar jaar gelede het die studente die nuus gehaal met hul gefuifery en is sommiges terug gestuur.

Deur: Die Vryburger

______________________________
Free Medical-Aid, Hospital and Funeral Plan and Insurance Quotes at www.M
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Non-invasive scan for liver disease

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In the past the only way to measure a liver’s elasticity was through a biopsy, but now, a non-invasive alternative has emerged, whereby elasticity of a patient’s liver can be measured using vibration-controlled transient elastography (VCTE).

Adopted as a frontline tool for assessing liver fibrosis by the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) and by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), the FibroScan VCTE liver stiffness testing system generates a shear wave that travels through the liver and the speed of which is measured by ultrasonic signals. The stiffness of the liver is proportional to the speed of the shear wave.

Dr Naayil Rajabally, who has been using the system in his rooms since early 2016, says if the test reveals fibrosis, treatment can begin without any need for the liver biopsy in conditions such as viral hepatitis, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), alcoholic liver disease and cholestatic liver dis
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Healtcare Services Delivery need to change in Africa

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Healthcare services delivery in Africa needs to change, but no-one is quite certain how. What is certain is that future trends will be driven by access to big data, to shape new models of care in driving innovative, affordable and accessible services, across this diverse continent.

With 1,2bn people, many enjoying a longer life, and the rise of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) there is a growing recognition of the importance of digital innovation in delivering curative and preventive care.

“The transition to digital healthcare offers opportunities to aggregate patient data from multiple sources – for example, from external healthcare providers and specialists who consult to the patient – to give them a single, accurate patient profile.

“This allows healthcare professionals to quickly connect all the dots in a patient’s care, with a view to focusing on optimum outcomes for the patient.In fact, a study in the Journal of Neurology found that putting a digital
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Vitamin D Deficiency

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If you shun the sun, suffer from milk allergies, or adhere to a strict vegan diet, you may be at risk for vitamin D deficiency. Known as the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D is produced by the body in response to skin being exposed to sunlight.

It is also occurs naturally in a few foods — including some fish, fish liver oils, and egg yolks — and in fortified dairy and grain products.

Vitamin D is essential for strong bones, because it helps the body use calcium from the diet. Traditionally, vitamin D deficiency has been associated with rickets, a disease in which the bone tissue doesn’t properly mineralize, leading to soft bones and skeletal deformities. But increasingly, research is revealing the importance of vitamin D in protecting against a host of health problems.

Symptoms and Health Risks of Vitamin D Deficiency

Symptoms of bone pain and muscle weakness can mean you have a vitamin D deficiency. However, for many people, the symptoms are
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Hier is die 20 beste hospitale in SA

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Die resultate van die nuutste peiling onder pasiënte wat Discovery Health uitgevoer het om die beste hospitale in die land aan te wys, toon sewe hospitale wat al vier jaar agtereenvolgens op die lysie is.

Lede van mediese skemas wat deur Discovery Health geadministreer word, het aan die peiling deelgeneem oor die hospitale waar hulle in 2017 opgeneem is. Die lys is uit 140 hospitale saamgestel.

Life Healthcare, en die onafhanklike netwerk van hospitale wat lede van die National Hospital Network (NHN) is, het die meeste hospitale op die lys.

Netcare het net een hospitaal op die lys.

NHN het die meeste hospitale wat reeds vier jaar agtereenvolgens op die lys is.

Hier is die lys van die 20 beste hospitale in alfabetiese volgorde:

1. Ahmed Al-Kadi- private hospitaal (Durban, KwaZulu-Natal)

2. eThekwini-hospitaal en -hartsentrum (Durban, KwaZulu-Natal)

3. Gateway- private hospitaal (Umhlanga Rocks, KwaZulu-Natal)

4. Hillcrest- private hospitaal (
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You are paying more for less when it comes to medical aid, does it make sense. Here’s why.

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What are your chances of ending up in a hospital? Higher than you’d think if you are a medical aid member in a large city — and the reason reveals some never-before-seen truths about the country’s private healthcare sector.

A lack of competition within the private healthcare market is fuelling an epidemic of overtreatment — and mystery medical bills — in South Africa, the Competition Commission revealed on Thursday.

As part of a four-year investigation into private healthcare costs, the Competition Commission looked at hospital admission rates among patients treated in nine specialised areas of medicine. People who had insurance and lived near more hospitals were more likely to be admitted than people with similar conditions that lived farther away from lots of empty beds, the statutory body found.

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