Wellness

 

How your medical bills may change under the National Health Insurance

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Many private hospitals will be opening their doors to more patients but does that mean you’ll be stuck at the back of the queue?

The United Kingdom’s universal healthcare system, known as the National Health Service (NHS), had a problem: By the early 2000s, a growing number of elderly patients were waiting up to three years for sight-saving cataract services in the early 2000s.

But the government-funded healthcare scheme didn’t have enough beds. It did, however, have plenty of parking.

“All we needed was a parking lot and a connection to three-phase electricity,” remembers South Africa’s Netcare CEO Richard Friedland.

Netcare entered the UK market fifteen years ago. It operates more than 50 private hospitals in the country, but 43% of its patients come from the NHS through the service’s electronic “choose and book” appointment system: Patients elect where to go for care, and the NHS pays private providers like Netcare a nationally-set rate
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It’s now 90 years ago that Penicillin was discovered – and despite resistance, the future looks good for antibiotics

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When the NHS turned 70 this year, I was reminded of another anniversary which has had an enormous impact on healthcare over many years. Penicillin is 90 this year.

Discovered in September 1928 by Alexander Fleming, it was first used as a cure when George Paine treated eye infections with it in 1930. A method for mass production was devised by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain in 1940, and it was first mass produced in 1942, with half of that total supply used for one patient being treated for streptococcal septicaemia.

In 1944, 2.3m doses were produced in time for the Normandy landings of World War II. And it was then that the miracle of penicillin became clear. Soldiers who had previously died from septicaemia were surviving.

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Kundiges in gesondheidsbedryf krap kop oor toename in hospitalisasie

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Kundiges in die gesondheidsbedryf het op die jaarlikse konferensie van die Hospitaalvereniging van Suid-Afrika (Hasa) in Kaapstad hewig van mekaar verskil oor wat die redes vir ‘n skerp toename in die koste van mediese skemas is.

Matthew Prior, hoof van gesondheidsbeleid van Life Healtcare, sê ’n toename in benutting van gesondheidsdienste word die afgelope jare as die hoofoorsaak beskou vir hoë mediese inflasie. Hy sê die premieverhogings wat mediese skemas van hul lede eis, is die werklike maatstaf van mediese inflasie vir verbruikers.

Prior het die debat gelei oor die redes vir die toename in die benutting.

Navorsing deur Medscheme, die administrateur van mediese skemas, toon daar is ’n verband tussen ’n toename in hospitaalbeddens en die skerp styging in hospitalisasie wat verlede jaar ervaar is, sê dr. Jenni Noble, hoofbestuurder van Medscheme.

Die mededingingsowerhede se paneel wat die markondersoek na die gesondheidsbedryf doen, het in 2016
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#HASA2017: NHI needs to start delivering now

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South Africa can’t wait for the final National Health Insurance (NHI) system in 2026 to start delivering on universal health coverage, but needs to start implementing projects and programmes that will make a real difference in people’s lives now. And this can’t be done without cooperation between the public and private health sectors.

This was the overarching message in a high-level panel discussion of chief executives from the private healthcare sector at the Hospital Association of South Africa (Hasa) conference currently underway at the Cape Town International Centre.

White paper is not enough

“NHI, in principle is the right thing to do, but implementation is the key,” said Vishal Brijlal, National Department of Health (DoH) advisor on NHI. “We have a white paper, but that is not enough. The policy needs to be followed by planning, implementation, and cooperation.

“We can’t just wake up on 1 April 2026 and hope by some miracle that NHI will be
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CANCER:- Micorocoil localisation in treating early-stage lung cancer

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A breakthrough minimally invasive surgery technique, microcoil localisation, allows doctors to pinpoint and remove tiny nodules in early-stage lung cancer without damaging additional healthy tissue.

“Rather than cutting out an entire lobe, or potentially even an entire lung, we can just take out a small bit of tissue,” said Dr Jason Lempel, a thoracic radiologist at Cleveland Clinic in the United States. “We’re able to treat patients with early-stage lung cancers quickly and thus decrease the chance of the cancer spreading.”

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Cleveland Clinic is one of a handful of medical centre to offer the surgery. A review of the team’s first 20 cases has revealed a 100% success rate in retr
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Medical negligence claims in public health sector rise by 25%

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The sorry state of the public health sector is reflected in the sharp rise in medical negligence claims against provincial health departments, increasing by around 25% per year between 2011 and 2016.
Medical negligence claims rise by 25%.

This is according to Kirstie Haslam, partner at DSC Attorneys who says that the Gauteng Department of Health receives a particularly staggering number of negligence claims each year. Since January 2015, it has been forced to pay out more than R1.017bn to settle 185 medical negligence claims.

“Deteriorating conditions in state hospitals, as well as incompetence and gross negligence on the part of staff members, are at the root of these claims – the majority of which were ruled in favour of the plaintiffs,” Haslam explains.

She points out that several shocking cases of gross medical negligence have received media attention over the past few years.

Birth injuries

Haslam says that medical negligence claims involving
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Constitutional Court Ruling:- You can get high now in private

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In a unanimous judgement, the Constitutional Court on Tuesday ordered that the private consumption and cultivation of cannabis be decriminalised.

As judgement was being handed down, the court was filled with cheers of “Ganga” from public gallery.

It has been a long journey for Gareth Prince, one of the applicants in the matter, who began his fight against the criminalisation of cannabis over two decades ago, arguing that it was inconsistent with his constitutional freedom of religion as a Rastafarian.

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Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo handed down the judgement, which confirmed that sections 4(b) and 5(b) of the Drugs and Drugs Trafficking read in part with section 22(A)(9)(a)(i) of
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Mpumalanga woman claims nurses left her to deliver her own baby

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The Mpumalanga department of health has dismissed allegations that a 31-year-old woman was left alone to deliver her own baby at a local hospital.

Ester Mnisi claims that nursing staff at Mapulaneng Hospital in Bushbuckridge ignored her pleas for help on Sunday, September 17, when she went into labour.

“It was on Sunday, around six in the morning, when I arrived at the hospital with my family as my water broke.

“We greeted the nurses, but they just kept quiet until we asked why. Their response was that they were tired and had been delivering too many babies on that day.

“They said they were about to wrap up for the seven o’clock shift and that we should wait our turn,” Mnisi said.

The Mpumalanga woman said she could feel the baby coming, but when she told the nurses this, they sent her off to a room.

“I started screaming and begged for them to help me deliver the baby. They dismissed me and said my time to deliver was still far and they left and slamm
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How to save on your medical aid

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JOHANNESBURG – Medical aid schemes. The essential but expensive line item in a monthly budget for the less than 20 percent of South Africans who can afford medical aid cover.

John October, Chief Executive of online insurance and financial comparison website, Hippo.co.za, says in many cases people are forced into medical aid schemes.
“Many have to take compulsory schemes through their employers or have the need for specific medical care or treatment that they cannot afford as an out-of-pocket expense.”

There are ways to minimise the cost of medical cover. How? Ask yourself the following questions:

Have you compared the costs and benefits you are currently receiving with other service providers? Maybe you are paying too much for the same cover.
What are your health requirements for the next year? Are you covered if you know you are planning to start a family? If not you could be charged extra at a later stage.

Are your dependents old enough to pay for
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Motsoaledi has ‘zero authority’ to help ailing hospitals

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Cape Town – Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says he has “zero authority” to improve the functioning of troubled state hospitals, which are all managed by provincial governments.

Motsoaledi told the portfolio committee on health on Thursday that a two-year ministerial task team report highlighted 19 key problems at hospitals in six provinces around the country.

The task team spent two years visiting the 25 hospitals, most of which were struggling with staffing issues, budget problems, high-level vacancies and poor service conditions.

The minister said all 19 findings fell broadly into four categories, none of which were in his control.

“My conclusion is that a minister in health has a huge responsibility, but zero authority where it matters the most,” he lamented.

“Such authority is with the MECs of both finance and health, their premiers and executive councils.”

The areas in which these hospitals are falling short include human resources, procurement
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New drug approved:- Cipla’s new triple-combination antiretroviral drug approved

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The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) has approved Cipla’s latest first-line triple-combination antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for HIV.

The new combination medicine commonly referred to as TLD, is a combination of tenofovir (TDF), lamivudine (3TC) and dolutegravir (DTG).

In future, TLD will be manufactured at Cipla’s facilities in Durban and Uganda, reinforcing Cipla’s commitment to produce medicines in Africa for Africa and ensuring more affordable treatment for patients.

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Head of Manufacturing for Cipla South Africa, Ajay Kumar Pal, said the reason for the new formulation complexity related to the three different processes required for the three active pharm
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Will artificial intelligence change the face of patient care? The question remains … How!!

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There is no doubt that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning will change the way healthcare is managed and delivered, particularly in helping patients in tangible and life-saving ways.

A recent Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) report found that the potential for both AI and robotics in healthcare is vast and that they are increasingly becoming immersed in the modern healthcare system. They allow for more seamless treatments, better decision making for doctor and patient alike, more effective diagnoses and even early detection of diseases.

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Dispensing medication

“A superb example of how AI is changing the face of healthcare on the ground level is in the prescr
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Annual Global Burden of Disease Study : SA’s development vs health progress gap

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South Africa has one of the greatest misalignments in the world between development and health progress. It is one of five countries where actual health burden rates far exceed what one would expect based on its income and education levels, plus fertility rates. So says the Annual Global Burden of Disease Study.

“Life expectancy in South Africa is rapidly increasing, but that doesn’t mean we’re enjoying healthier lives. Communicable diseases like HIV, car accidents, and waves of violence are taking the lives of far too many South Africans, especially young people. This is one of the few countries in the world where the number of healthy years that men and women can expect to live has fallen over the past 25 years. We have a lot of work to do,” said Professor Charles Shey Wiysonge, director of Cochrane South Africa and a co-author of the study.

The study’s main findings for South Africa include:

A South African man born in 2016 can expect to live 59.2
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Faking an Illness:- This is how doctors can spot it!

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It’s one thing to cough and sniff in front of your parents or boss, but you need to realise that it’s a completely different matter to fake an illness to an actual doctor.

Most of us have faked a cough and sniffle to get out of going to school or work for a day. However, it usually does not involve lying to a doctor and faking symptoms to legitimize your sick leave.

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Medical Implants:- Germs can grow on them, but can they make you sick?

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Contrary to belief, implants are not completely sterile. When you insert a foreign body into the human body, you create a new habitat for bacteria.

Bacteria and fungi grow on medical implants, such as hip and knee replacements, pacemakers and screws used to fix broken bones, researchers report.

In a new study, Danish investigators examined 106 implants of different types and the surrounding tissue in patients. The findings showed that 70% of the implants had been colonised by bacteria, fungi or both.

However, none of the patients with bacteria or fungi on implants showed signs of infection, according to the team at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark.

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