Providing a lifeline for rural doctors

Stressed doctors thrown an MPS lifeline.

A total of 252 public sector doctors have been asked by the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) to provide written explanations on potential charges of dereliction of duty and ‘refusing to attend to life-threatening emergencies’ following the country-wide wildcat doctor strike last year. They will have to live with the unknown until the second half of next year, when case-by-case...

The lifeline express--a mobile ear clinic for rural India.

The objectives of this study were to review the application and feasibility of providing screening, diagnosis, medical and surgical treatment for patients with ear discharge by setting a mobile hospital in rural India. The study was retrospective. The study involved collection of data from 1992 to 2005 from patients with ear diseases. The number of patients operated on for ear conditions and th...

Retaining Doctors in Rural Bangladesh: A Policy Analysis

Background Retaining doctors in rural areas is a challenge in Bangladesh. In this study, we analyzed three rural retention policies: career development programs, compulsory services, and schools outside major cities – in terms of context, contents, actors, and processes.   Methods Series of group discussions between policy-makers and researchers prompted the selection of policy areas, which wer...

A lifeline for primary care.

n engl j med 360;26 nejm.org june 25, 2009 2693 levels.1 Overloaded primary care practices, whose doctors are aptly compared to hamsters on a treadmill, struggle to provide prompt access and high-quality care. Three major factors contribute to this crisis. First, primary care physicians earn far lower incomes than procedural specialists, reducing career attractiveness for medical students with ...

A lifeline for battering parents.