Drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) is now at record levels with Asia bearing the brunt of the epidemic, says the United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) in a report released today that also calls for better Diagnosis of the disease. In some parts of the world, one in four people with TB becomes ill with a form of the disease that can no longer be treated with standard drugs, according to WHO’s...

The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) today issued new guidelines for malaria treatment, marking the first time the agency has released guidance on procuring safe and effective medicines to treat the disease. The agency warned that if not used properly, artemisinin-based combination therapy, known as ACTs, which have transformed treatment in recent years, could become ineffective. “The world now has the means to rapidly diagnose malaria and treat it...

What’s Working... Cashless facility for hospital care, medicine for BPL families Ensures one-point Diagnosis, treatment with empanelled hospitals Fixed charges for procedures reduces chances of fleecing Empanelled private hospitals help ease burden on state ones *** ...And What’s Not Lack of awareness leads to under-utilisation of the scheme Flaws in BPL data deprives many of the RSBY card Outcome dependent on regular monitoring of service providers Could shift focus from need to improve...

For non-compliance, clinical establishments may face fine up to Rs. 5 lakh  Private facilities often refer accident victims to government hospitals to avoid legal hassles All clinical establishments will have to register with State Council The Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation Act) Bill, 2010 — approved by the Union Cabinet last month — makes it mandatory for all clinical establishments to provide medical care and treatment to stabilise any person in an...

Defending the alternative model for undergraduate medical education to create a separate cadre of “rural doctors,” Union Health and Family Welfare Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad said on Thursday that the scheme would not compromise with the quality of medical education or reduce the importance of trained and specialised doctors. Inaugurating a two-day national workshop here to discuss the programme for starting a specialised course of Bachelor of Rural Medicine and...