Posts tagged with 'Medical'

 

480 narkotiseurs kan SA verlaat oor swak NGV

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Indien narkotiseurs meen dat die Nasionale Gesondheidsversekering (NGV) en die beoogde prysbeheer ’n bedreiging vir hul beroep inhou, kan tot sowat 480 of ’n derde van hulle die land verlaat.

Natalie Zimmelman, uitvoerende hoof van die Suid-Afrikaanse Vereniging van Narkotiseurs (Sasa), het Dinsdag op ’n mediakonferensie die uitslae van ’n peiling onder narkotiseurs oor onder meer die NGV bekend gemaak.

Sy sê narkotiseurs is ’n “hoogs sensitiewe en baie mobiele” arbeidsmag omdat meer as 40% van hulle ook in ander lande geregistreer is. Meer as 50% het reeds in ’n ander land gewerk.

“Hulle kan môre die land verlaat as hulle wil.”

’n Peiling wat verlede jaar vir die markondersoek oor private gesondheidsorg uitgevoer is se inligting is nou vrygestel.

Dit toon 35% of sowat 480 narkotiseurs oorweeg dit om in die komende vyf jaar die land te verlaat. Dit hou met sosio-ekonomiese bedreigings vir hul beroep en hul siening oor die gesondhe
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Medical fraud costs the country’s economy

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The phenomenon of suspiciously qualified or unqualified doctors opening shop in some township and attracting unsuspecting patients has become a concerning norm.

Discussions and debate are focused on state capture and its effect on the economy, but there’s another beast eating away at productivity, hurting the economy and undermining our health system. South Africa is open for medical fraud business.

Medical fraud manifests in two ways: bogus doctors in practice and bogus medical certificates issued to rob employers by keeping an employee away from work while earning a salary.

The phenomenon of suspiciously qualified or unqualified doctors opening practices in some townships and attracting unsuspecting patients has become a concerning norm. Just recently a bogus doctor was caught and arrested at his Mpumalanga surgery in front of patients, some of whom he had prescribed highly regulated schedule 4+ drugs.

These bogus doctors – and even dentists and special
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SA signs innovation agreement with Novartis

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A high-level memorandum of understanding (MoU) for medical research and development has been signed between the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), the department of science and technology (DST) and Swiss drug firm, Novartis.

The MoU, a public private partnership (PPP), aims to establish a framework for potential cooperation between the parties. This will allow for joint research programmes in selected communicable and non-communicable diseases (NCD), improve South African patients’ access to innovative medicines and build up the research & development capabilities and ecosystem in South Africa and Africa.

“Public private partnerships, such as what we are about to embark on, are catalysts that enhance our scientific research and innovation capabilities. These partnerships are visionary and aim to change lives in the present and future,” said Professor Richard Gordon, SAMRC’s executive director: grants, innovation and product development (GIPD
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Allegations of fraud at UKZN medical school – Sama Responds

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The South African Medical Association (Sama) has called on the department of education to act swiftly to deal with allegations of fraud and corruption at the Nelson Mandela School of Medicine, at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN).

This comes amid allegations that certain members of the community, and some staff members from the UKZN, fraudulently sold students places for admission to the school of medicine. There are also allegations that examination papers are being sold at the university.

“We are extremely concerned about these allegations and call upon the ministry of education to investigate them quickly and effectively. If any staff members are found to be complicit in these activities they must be dealt with decisively. In addition, the leadership of the university must be held accountable, and explain how such a scandalous situation could have occurred in the first place,” said Dr Mzukisi Grootboom, chairperson of Sama.

He said if found to be t
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Nuwe gesondheidsorg in die vooruitsig

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Die afskaffing van bybetalings op mediese dienste is een van die aanbevelings van die voorgestelde wet op mediese dienste.

Volgens Aaron Motsoaelidi, minister van gesondheid, kan slegs 10% van die bevolking private gesondheidsorg bekostig en moet dit onmiddelik reggestel word.

Tussengangers gaan ook afgeskaf word om te verseker dat lede direk gelde aan die mediese fondse betaal. Die rykes moet nou die armes subsidieer en die jonger geslag moet die ouer geslag help en die gesonde mense moet die siek mense subsidieer. Hy sluit af deur te sê dat die oorskakeling ‘n massiewe reorganisasie van die totale gesondheidsorg stelsel  gaan wees, beide privaat en openbaar.

Medici sê mense sterf daagliks in staatshospitale, diefstal van mediese voorraad en toerusting is aan die orde van die dag.  Instandhouding van toerusting bestaan nie en personeel se betalings is agterstallig.  Die totale gesondheidsorg van die staat is in chaos en al uitweg is dat privaat mediese
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Making Sense of Medical Aid Rates and Tariffs

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The medical aid industry is known for confounding consumers with all sorts of complex terms. Among the most confusing of all are references to medical aid, or medical scheme, rates.

Schemes and plans are quoted as covering the costs of in-hospital procedures up to 100%, 200% or 300% of the scheme rate or tariff. You might reasonably think this means that medical aid will cover all healthcare expenses, up to 100% or more. However, this is far from the case.
In this article, we focus on medical aid rates, how they’re calculated and what impact the different tariff options have on medical aid members.
The truth about medical tariffs
Medical expenses in South Africa are not regulated. Doctors, specialists and hospitals can charge what they want, provided the fees are deemed to offer “fair value” to the consumer.
The Department of Health has, however, published a list of recommended tariffs pertaining to specific treatments and procedures conducted i
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Climbdown on medical aids

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The Department of Health has done a U-turn on its plan to scrap medical aid schemes, saying they should work with the state when it rolls out National Health Insurance instead.

Department director-general, Precious Matsoso, met leaders of the medical aid plan sector and asked that they work together to reform healthcare in South Africa.

“This is big news,” said Graham Anderson, principal officer of Profmed. The medical aid sector was delighted to be asked to work with the department, because it had been in the dark about NHI for some time, he said.

In the meeting Matsoso made different suggestions on how the government may have to work with the private sector, such as subsidising medical aid options for people who couldn’t afford them.

Finer details of a partnership, however, were not discussed.

Matsoso confirmed the meeting.

She said: “The Department of Health is consulting all stakeholders, private, civil society and labour, to get further inputs [o
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Three things you should know about Three things you should know about rotavirus

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Rotavirus is highly contagious and a common cause of infectious diarrhoea in developing countries. Since children younger than three are worst affected, a paediatrician sheds light on detection, prevention and treatment.

1. Infection

Nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhoea and fever are the most common symptoms of rotavirus. These symptoms usually start one to three days after exposure to the virus and last for an average of eight days.

‘If your family doctor or paediatrician suspects your child has rotavirus, the infection can be confirmed with a stool sample test,’ says Dr Heidi Ackermann, a paediatrician at Mediclinic George. Adults can also contract the virus, but the symptoms are usually much milder.

‘You can also can get the virus more than once, but you won’t get re-infected with the same strain,’ Dr Ackermann adds. Important to note is that although blood in the stools is not a symptom of the virus, it is a symptom that can’t
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Is your GP contracted in to a medical scheme network?

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If GPs are contracted in to a medical scheme network, they might be pressurised to recommend cheaper treatment options and medications, say SA health bodies.

The Board of Healthcare Funders (BHF) and the IPA Foundation (IPAF) is extremely concerned at the comments made recently by the Health Professions Council of South Africa concerning Designated Service Providers (DSPs).

The HPCSA recently released a statement to the effect that healthcare practitioners should be cautious when concluding designated service provider (DSP) agreements with medical schemes as the medical schemes attempted to reduce costs by applying pressure on practitioners within a DSP network to prescribe medication or recommend treatment options, when other more appropriate, albeit more expensive, options were medically indicated and readily available.

Pushing healthcare costs down

In the current environment where there are no regulated tariffs for healthcare procedures,
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Most affordable medical aid schemes and hospital plans in South-Africa for 2017

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The medical aid industry saw a massive shake-up in April as National Treasury introduced new regulations which will see a limit on the amount of gap cover and hospital cash-back policies you can claim, as well as the discontinuation of all primary healthcare policies.

This is was done in an effort to differentiate between “medical scheme products” and “health insurance”, both of which are regulated by separate Acts causing confusion in the medical arena.

The new regulations will now outlaw all primary healthcare policies from 1 April. According to legislation these are not seen as full medical schemes, instead providing limited medical service benefits, such as GP visits, basic dentistry and optometry, and some acute and chronic medication.

The new laws also stipulate that hospital cash-back plans are limited to paying their clients a maximum of R3,000 per day, or a total lump sum of R20,000 per year. Currently there are no limits in place for these pa
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Why opting out for a cheaper medical cover can cost you in the long run

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Medical cover is expensive, and getting more so every year. Unfortunately this could mean we opt for lower monthly premiums that could mean you aren’t covered in the event of an expensive procedure.

The South African Society of Anaesthesiologists (SASA) is advising South Africans to consider the multiple factors affecting cover when choosing access to medical care.

The SASA understands that healthcare is often hard to comprehend and expensive to access. As a result, the Society believes, many consumers choose their medical plans – including how much cover it offers and whether care is provided at public or private institutions – based on the principle of “what can I afford monthly”.

“The truth is, most people look at cutting their medical costs in an effort to reduce their household spend when they feel an economic pinch. This is a difficult decision, since we’d all like to have access to the best facilities and treatment with the least out of pock
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Manage your medical expenses during winter season to obtain optimal value

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To obtain optimal value from your medical scheme plan, it’s critical to fully understand the scope of benefits it offers and to manage those prudently.

To obtain optimal value from your medical scheme plan, it’s critical to fully understand the scope of benefits it offers and to manage those prudently. It’s an especially important consideration during the winter months. This is according to Dr James Arens, clinical operations executive at Pro Sano medical scheme.

Minor ailments like a recurrent common cold, for example, may not necessarily require repeated doctor visits that could potentially use up benefits that might be more appropriately used elsewhere.

Dr Arens points out that the economic climate in recent years has seen many South Africans downscaling on their lifestyles.

“This often means ‘buying down’ when it comes to medical scheme cover. It’s understandable that when money is scarce, people wish to pay as little as possible while sti
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What to consider when deciding on a medical scheme

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Are your health insurance costs too high? Try decoding your medical aid terms and conditions and associated costs to make sure that it works for you.

“While health insurance is important, it comes at a cost that is rapidly rising. Unfortunately for the consumer, this affects medical scheme membership contribution rates, and the increases of which are sometimes significantly higher than general inflation.

As schemes try to contain their costs in the face of increasing claims, they make changes to their plans and benefits, which can come as a surprise to the consumer,” says Mark Payne, CEO of the Independent Community Pharmacy Association (ICPA).

Annual review of your plan

He recommends that an annual review of your plan is absolutely vital, and will affirm that it is serving your needs rather than the other way around.

The ICPA advises on several important things you should look at when considering a new medical scheme or reviewi
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The benefits on low blood pressure

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If you were born with blood pressure on the low side, that’s good news – but there are still a few things worth knowing about this condition.

Having low blood pressure in your genetic make-up means you don’t face the risk of developing heart problems or having a stroke as a result of high blood pressure. However, a sudden drop in blood pressure can indicate something more serious.

What is considered low blood pressure?

Low blood pressure, or hypotension, is a blood pressure measurement of 90/60mm Hg* or below. A normal or ideal blood pressure reading is between 120/80 and 90/60mm Hg. Blood pressure can vary considerably over short periods, depending on:

    • body position
    • stress levels
    • physical conditions
    • medication
    • diet
    • time of day – usually lowest while someone sleeps.

Most people with chronically low blood pressure aren’t even aware of it, and if you have
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Therapy For Breast Cancer Is No Longer Cut And Dried

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High-profile media campaigns have made most South African women aware that breast cancer poses a very real risk. But the message that really needs to be conveyed is that the disease can affect anyone and that most women who get breast cancer do not have risk factors.

In addition, more and more young women are presenting with breast cancer. “The implication for South African women is important: we should be taking proactive steps for women to be ‘breast aware’ from a young age. The earlier it is detected and treated, the better the prognosis,” says specialist surgeon and breast disease specialist, Professor Carol Ann Benn, who established the Netcare Milpark Breast Care Centre of Excellence.

International accreditation

The facility, which was the first breast care centre of excellence to be established in the private sector in South Africa some 16 years ago, has been granted a three-year, full accreditation by the National Accreditation Programme f
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