Medical Brief News Updates

Two new legal suits have been lodged against the NHI in the past week, one taking aim at MPs over alleged inadequate public consultation, and another challenging the affordability of the scheme. The Board of Healthcare Funders, in its latest action, is targeting MPs and asking the Constitutional Court to… Read more »

The Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) is consulting lawyers on how to proceed against the three medical aids named in the Section 59 “racial profiling” investigation – after the July publication of a report saying some black, coloured and Indian medical professionals had their right to procedural fairness violated. The… Read more »

Non-South Africans are not entitled to the full package of comprehensive healthcare provided to this country’s citizens, the chairperson of Parliament’s Health Portfolio Committee has said, calling for urgent legislative reform to address the mounting disruptions by Operation Dudula activists. Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo's remarks come in the wake of Health… Read more »

Medical experts have expressed concern about continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) being promoted and sold in South Africa as wellness gadgets for tracking food and lifestyle, saying that for diabetics who depend on them, inaccurate readings could be life-threatening. They have warned that the booming CGM market lacks proper regulation, leaving… Read more »

Experts say a new treatment for advanced bladder cancer, which has just been approved by NHS England, could double survival time for patients and usher in a “fundamental shift” in care for patients with late-stage disease. The Independent reports that treatment for advanced bladder cancer had not significantly changed since… Read more »

The dire shortage of medical staff and the critical number of vacancies at Eastern Cape hospitals and clinics – and others, nationwide – may be easing up with the government’s plan to hire 1 200 doctors, 200 nurses and 250 other health professionals, at a cost of R1.7bn, but some… Read more »

Health advocates from the US, Kenya and SA have sounded the alarm over the impacts of America’s foreign aid suspension, urging a US court to reconsider a ruling on the constitutionality of the funding block, with a reminder that once a malnourished infant dies, no restoration of funds can undo… Read more »

What began as a routine medical examination turned tragic when a recently graduated 22-year-old Brazilian lawyer went into anaphylactic shock during a CT scan and died less than a day later, reports The Independent. Leticia Paul suffered a severe allergic reaction to a contrast agent used in the scan at Alto Vale… Read more »

Strategies that include a tip-off hotline are helping the beleaguered National Health Laboratory Service reduce fraud and criminality – after the organisation was rocked by a scandal several years ago involving contracts worth about R200m, which implicated its former chief executive and chief financial officer, reports Daily Maverick. As part… Read more »

The National Department of Health’s decision to give the lion’s share of the latest R15.5bn Aids drug tender to Aspen Pharmacare but shun many of the country’s biggest pharmaceutical manufacturers has received a backlash, reports Business Day. Boosting Africa’s capacity to make its own vaccines and medicines has long been… Read more »