02-Sep-16 Creating an avenue for Australians who feel “kind of stuck”, medical tourism agencies in Australia such as SkyGen and CosMediTour offer to help people find orthopedic, cosmetic and spinal surgery overseas. Every health stakeholder is worried about rising costs at home. But the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons warns of paperwork, unidentified implants, fragmentation of care and misleading advertising. [image: Lyndon Mechieslen]

01-Sep-16 A pilot program connecting doctors with disabled patients through the use of information and telecommunications technology has kicked off in Korea. The program will involve the patients, including those in welfare and other facilities, and two hospitals. The program, however, faces strong opposition from the medical industry. [image: The Korea Herald]

01-Sep-16 The Philippines Department of Health (DOH) has expressed interest in emulating the ratio of doctor/healthworkers to population in Cuba. DOH Secretary Dr Ubial said it would be a big help if the Philippines could achieve the ratio of 1:1,075, or even 1:12,000. At present the ratio is 1:33,000. [image: Kaya Responsible Travel]

31-Aug-16 The Brazilian economic crisis could see universal healthcare replaced by US-style compulsory health insurance. The Government has new plans for healthcare as part of plans to slash expenditure. The proposed cuts could have a catastrophic effect both for the 19 mn Brazilians living under USD3.10 per day and for the rapidly expanding middle class who rely on public healthcare. [image: IMTJ]

14-Aug-16 The Philippines Department of Health has stressed the need to integrate eye care into public health at the local government level, disclosing that nearly 300,000 Filipinos are blind in both eyes. The estimated number of persons who have bilateral blindness is 295,152, 59% of which is due to cataract and 14% due to uncorrected refractive errors. [image: Resources for the Blind]