Globally, noncommunicable diseases were responsible for 70% of deaths in 2015, up from 60% in 2000. Ischaemic heart disease was the leading cause of death accounting for 8.8 million deaths in 2015, followed by stroke (6.2 million deaths) and lower respiratory infections (3.2 million deaths). Communicable (infectious) diseases, on the other hand, were the cause..
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Is SA’s healthcare getting better?
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Google search adds medical quiz to help diagnose depression.
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Google has integrated a medially-certified quiz into its search results to help users determine whether they have depression. Users in the United States who search Google for depression or clinical depression will now be greeted with a link labelled “Check if you are clinically depressed”. The link opens an integrated PHQ-9 questionnaire, which helps to..
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Nearly 2 million will lose private healthcare if tax reform happens
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The government’s plan to ditch medical aid tax credits will have a disastrous effect on already cash-strapped South Africans and force nearly 2 million people onto the over-stretched state health system. If the tax credit is removed, 22% of medical aid users will not be able to afford cover, Stellenbosch economics consultancy Econex warned in..
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Medical software crippled by recent cyber attack
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Many doctors still can’t use a transcription service made by Nuance Communications Inc. three weeks after the company was hit by a powerful, debilitating computer attack. Hospital systems including Beth Israel Deaconess in Boston and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center said eScription, a Nuance staple product that allows physicians to dictate notes from a..
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Experts decry plan to consolidate small medical schemes !!
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The plan by the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS) to consolidate or dissolve small medical schemes posed risks to the people who belong to these schemes and might force some to drop their cover, industry sources warned this week. More than 228,000 people belonged to 31 medical schemes that had fewer than 6,000 members at..
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Health MEC ‘putting band aid on gaping wound of oncology crisis’
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The DA in KwaZulu-Natal on Sunday renewed its call for Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo to be fired, saying it appears he is “trying to put a band aid on a large gaping wound” in respect of the province’s oncology crisis. The DA had been advised by the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) that Dhlomo..
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NHI white paper issues raised – National Health Insurance
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The two fundamental issues with the new white paper on National Health Insurance (NHI) are a single payer fund and the nationalisation of private healthcare without compensation. Single payer fund In terms of the single payer fund, the white paper believes that the NHI can use bulk purchasing power to drive down the price of..
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How will private healthcare evolve under Universal Health Coverage (UHC)?
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With National Health Insurance, the Competition Commission investigation and sky-rocketing costs, it’s no wonder that the private healthcare sector (and the public sector for that matter) is a tad wary about what the future holds. However, in which ever way, shape or form it manifests itself, universal health coverage (UHC) is inevitable. It forms part..
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Syndicates and devious health professionals may target National Health Insurance
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Criminal networks are targeting your medical aid rands but could you be part of the problem too? Criminal syndicates and unscrupulous doctors may be defrauding the private health sector of millions as experts warn that medical schemes may reach a breaking point. “The health care sector is being targeted by criminal syndicates and even devious..
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16 Foods That Boost Your Immune System
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Elderberry It’s an old folk remedy. This fruit is loaded with nutrients called antioxidants, and it may help fight inflammation. In some lab studies, an extract from the berries appears to block flu viruses. But scientists caution that more study is needed. You definitely still need to get a yearly flu vaccination! Button Mushrooms They..
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