Less qualified health workers such as nurses, midwives, and surgical assistants can do as good a job as qualified doctors when treating some complex medical conditions including psychiatric disorders, premature births, performing of caesarean sections and HIV infection, a new international study has found.
Read more>
For the first time on African soil, patients with cancers difficult to treat will have the option of using new radio-oncology equipment for easier and quicker treatment. The equipment - Novalis Radiosurgery - is soon to be available at Cape Town's Life Vincent Pallotti Hospital.
Read more>
Depression is the second biggest cause of disability in the world, according to a paper in the journal PLOS Medicine. Scientists have warned that the disease must be viewed as a global public health priority, despite the fact that only a small proportion of patients currently have access to treatment.
Read more>
The world is losing the battle against diabetes as the number of people estimated to be living with the disease soars to a new record of 382 million this year, medical experts have said. The vast majority have type 2 diabetes - the kind linked to obesity and lack of exercise -and the epidemic is spreading as more people in the developing world adopt Western, urban lifestyles.
Read more>
Medical scheme members will continue to be worse off every year as the steady rise in medical claims will see schemes pass on the costs through contribution increases. According to the medical schemes rating bulletin released by Global Credit Ratings (GCR) yesterday, certain schemes have reported elevated claim ratios despite adopting strategies to manage their claims costs, such as forming doctor networks and naming designated service providers.
Read more>
Patients in the private sector are denied access to free medicines from state "donation" programmes when they have run out of medical funds, according to Campaigning for Cancer chairman and Werksmans lawyer Neil Kirby.
Read more>
0860 00 4367 (Call Centre) [email protected] More Contacts >