Patient safety could be at risk under a new pharmacy contract, because pharmacists are being forced to focus on revenue-gathering, Mosgiel pharmacist Jenny Kerr-Mackenzie says.
Vouchers for free GP visits are among initiatives worth $370,000 approved this week by the Southern Primary Health Organisation.
Southland anti-abortion campaigners presented an unusual sight at yesterday's Southern District Health Board meeting - a full public gallery.
A new pharmacy service contract causing "angst" in the sector has been signed by 80% of the South's pharmacists, Southern District Health Board chief executive Carole Heatly says.
Southern District Health Board committees might need to be "banned" from discussing emergency department (ED) volumes until management comes up with an action plan, hospital advisory committee member Richard Thomson says.
Women are more likely than men to put off going to the doctor or dentist because of the cost, University of Otago research shows.
The Southern District Health Board's projected operational deficit has again deteriorated, and is now predicted to be $12.1 million for 2011-12, the latest DHB financial report shows.
Southern District Health Board chairman Joe Butterfield has denied a claim he is cutting medical staff at Dunedin Hospital's emergency department, but says staff need to stick to agreed budgets.
One of Dunedin's main after-hours medical providers will not offer free after-hours care to under-6s until it is sure it can do so safely.
Otago Brain Injury Association is cutting back its services to clients because of the recession.
People should expect extra service charges at pharmacies to result from major funding changes hitting the sector, Balclutha pharmacist Daniel Haw says.
National and Labour ignore a lack of transparency over health funding out of political expediency, Prof Robin Gauld of the University of Otago believes.
A "ring-fence" guarding mental health funds should be removed within five years, as district health boards treat a broader cross-section of society and focus on prevention, an updated blueprint says.
It is wrong for off-label prescribing of ketamine in Dunedin's mental health service to continue while that practice is under investigation, former mental health consumer adviser Graham Roper says in a letter to the Southern District Health Board explaining his resignation.
The Southern District Health Board moved to end elective surgery outsourcing with Mercy Hospital, but then changed its mind, Mercy chief executive Richard Whitney says.
The Ministry of Health spent nearly $60,000 last year to evaluate a scheme that allows disabled people to employ their own carer; but is yet to release the results.
A plan to use primary healthcare funds for adult dentistry is yet to be implemented, almost a year after it was supposed to start.
Labour would consider trying to regulate aged-care providers to ensure they pass on pay rises to aged-care workers, Labour health spokeswoman Maryan Street said yesterday.
Going to the chemist is set to be more expensive from next January, when the general prescription charge rises from $3 to $5.
The panel considering biopsy errors in laboratories has released its terms of reference.
