Seeing that the application of the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI) is drawing close, it has now become more important than ever to make sure that your medical practice complies with the requirements of the POPI Act. Although the government has not yet announced a specific enforcement date, you can use the interim to your advantage to get fully acquainted with the significance of the POPI Act for your medical practice and how to set about safekeeping the medical data of patients in accordance with the requirements of the POPI Act. Are you wondering how the Protection of Personal
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By Reon Janse van Rensburg   Careless handling of patient information at a medical practice, is not only unethical but can also result in sanctions at the Health Practitioners Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and violating of a private dispute can in extreme cases result in fines or even imprisonment. Health practitioners and their administrative staff receive personal information from their patients on a daily basis in various ways, for example when a file is opened or when patients disclose confidential medical history to a doctor. According to the Act this information is regarded as the personal information of a
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By Reon Janse van Rensburg In 2018, the Constitutional Court in South Africa ruled that the use of cannabis is legal for both personal and medical use. However, it is still unlawful to use it outside of your private home as well as buying and selling it. There is one exception which is mentioned later. Before the ban was lifted in 2018, advocates applied pressure to the government to amend the acts to allow for exemption for medical use, religious practices, and other purposes. The ban existed from 1922. The Afrikaans word “dagga” comes from the Khoi-Khoi word dacha which
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By Bianca Smit “Burnout is a sign that something needs to change.” – Sarah Forgrave The abovementioned statement makes it sound so easy: If things do not work, change them. However, it is not as easy as it sounds. Health practitioners, nurses and social workers make the conscious decision every day to sacrifice their own wellbeing so that they can take care of other people’s wellbeing. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recently announced in a press release that burnout is now regarded as a medical condition. This follows shortly after the South African Society of Anaesthesiologists (SASA) reported in April
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Solidarity today expressed its concern about the precarious state of health care in the public sector and argued that the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI), as confirmed by newly appointed Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, will only bring large-scale and far-reaching disaster for South Africans.   Morné Malan, senior researcher at the Solidarity Research Institute (SRI), explained: “Last year, we heard about the Life Esidimeni scandal, the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital crisis, reports from the Office of Health Standards Compliance (OHSC) indicating that only 1% of state hospitals comply with basic requirements, and we heard about crises in the
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16 November 2018 Solidariteit verwelkom die hewige en omvattende kritiek wat die waarnemende direkteur-generaal van die tesourie, Ismail Momoniat, oor die omstrede wetsontwerp op Nasionale Gesondheidsversekering uitgespreek het. Die kritiek het aan die lig gekom nadat 'n skrywe aan die departement van gesondheid uitgelek het. Morné Malan, 'n senior navorser verbonde aan die Solidariteit Navorsingsinstituut (SNI), verduidelik: “Die weergawe van die wetsontwerp wat in Junie vanjaar vir kommentaar vrygestel is, is reeds uit talle oorde gekritiseer. Dit is bemoedigend dat die tesourie nou ook in die kryt klim om die koue water van die realiteit op hierdie ideologiese vlamme te
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The proposed Medical Schemes Amendment Bill and the National Health Insurance Bill tabled by the ANC bring up four issues that will play a very important role in the health of the South African population:   The Minister of Health will take charge of regulating and controlling all aspects of healthcare in South Africa.   The control of the entire healthcare system will be nationalised to the State.   The decision-making pertaining to healthcare will no longer be with the healthcare practitioner and the patient.   The effective employment of healthcare professionals by the State will be brought about by
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The World Health Organisation and World Bank have developed a UHC Monitoring Framework that focuses on the 2 (two) core components of UHC: Coverage of the population with quality, essential health services. Coverage of the population with financial protection. They have also developed certain sets of indicators to the abovementioned 2 (two) core components: Essential services: The set of indicators for service coverage is grouped into four main categories: Reproductive, maternal, newborn & child health Infectious diseases Non-communicable diseases Service capacity, access & health security Financial protection: Regarding financial protection, there are 2 (two) indicators: Disproportionate spending on health (certain
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Universal Health Care includes: Financial risk protection, access to quality essential health care services, safe, effective, quality and affordable essential medicines and vaccines for all   NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE What national health insurance is: National health insurance (sometimes called statutory health insurance), is health insurance that insures a national population for the costs of health care and usually is instituted as a program of healthcare reform. It is enforced by law. It may be administered by the public sector, the private sector, or a combination of both. Funding mechanisms vary with the program and country.   What national health insurance
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Dawie Roodt took to the podium at yesterday’s crisis summit on the National Health Insurance (NHI), hosted by Solidarity Occupational Guilds for Health Practitioners. He highlighted the story of economy, and the role economy plays in South Africa’s health system. The concept of private property did not exist in the beginning of humanity, and life expectancy was not very long, but that changed over time as we domesticated animals and plants. With animals and plants domesticated, we could concentrate on other things instead of just surviving, like inventing the wheel, having set professions and having a democracy. It was only
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