News Articles
COVID-19 fight: Australian research offers hope as world struggles with ventilator shortage
Date of Posting: 17-04-2020
A world-first breakthrough by Australian researchers in ventilator splitting could help hospitals under severe stress as the number of critical COVID-19 cases continues to rise. For the first time, researchers have successfully tested, in a simula Read More...
Health experts urge Aussies to seek heart help
Date of Posting: 17-04-2020
An Australian medical research institute has warned the COVID-19 pandemic could undo decades of work driving down heart disease deaths. A medical research facility has raised the alarm over Australian hospital data suggesting a large drop in atten Read More...
Mobile coronavirus test sites head for remote Australia
Date of Posting: 16-04-2020
Indigenous Australian will soon get access to mobile coronavirus tests sites which can turn around tests in 45 minutes. Mobile coronavirus test sites will be rolled out across Australia's remote indigenous communities.[subscribe] The 83 new Read More...
Queensland government provide tips for helping children learn at home
Date of Posting: 15-04-2020
Some tips for parents feeling overwhelmed about their children learning at home as the Queensland government says most students must stay away from school. BRISBANE, AAP - TIPS FOR HELPING CHILDREN LEARN AT HOME[subscribe] Develop a consis Read More...
Close to the bone: 3D printed implants
Last Updated: 15-04-2020
Visionary biomaterials and tissue engineer Hala Zreiqat has invented the world’s first 3D-printed porous synthetic bone that mimics bone mechanical strength and promotes new bone growth. But her dreams of medical revolution don’t stop the Read More...
Upcoming changes to categorisation of private health insurance products
Last Updated: 15-04-2020
On 1 April, 2019, there will be significant chances to the way private hospital cover benefits are categorised in Australia. These changes are coming about as a result of government initiated private health insurance reforms. Government officials wer Read More...
Australian restaurants cook meals for health workers
Date of Posting: 14-04-2020
One woman has set up a GoFundMe page to help supply exhausted NSW health workers on the COVID-19 front line with meals from restaurants. Australian restaurants struggling to stay afloat during the coronavirus pandemic are signing up to provide fre Read More...
Australian states and territories COVID-19 testing criteria
Date of Posting: 14-04-2020
The testing guidelines people need to meet in order to get a COVID-19 test in Australian states and territories. WHAT CRITERIA PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA NEED TO MEET IN ORDER TO GET TESTED FOR THE COVID-19.[subscribe] VICTORIA Testing has exp Read More...
What actually are 'essential services' and who decides?
Last Updated: 14-04-2020
The Morrison government keeps using the word “essential” to describe employees, public gatherings, services and businesses that are still allowed and not restricted as it tries to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. But Read More...
Twins encouraged to join national COVID-19 research effort
Date of Posting: 14-04-2020
Researchers are mobilising twins across Australia to join a world-first study to rapidly measure the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Australians and their families. Called TRACKERR, the Twins Research Australia COVID-19 Knowledge, Experience, R Read More...
Exercise can help stop liver cancer, research shows
Date of Posting: 14-04-2020
New research shows exercise can stop liver cancer – the fastest increasing cause of cancer death in Australia. The new finding could help prevent the most common type of liver cancer – hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).[subscribe] Read More...
How you walk could be used to identify some types of dementia
Date of Posting: 14-04-2020
More than 50m people worldwide are living with dementia. With an ageing population, it’s likely that this number will continue to grow, as getting older is one of the biggest risk factors in developing dementia. But until researchers find a Read More...
COVID-19 drug lead treatments identified
Date of Posting: 14-04-2020
An international team of researchers has tested more than 10,000 compounds to identify six drug candidates that may help treat COVID-19. The research, involving University of Queensland scientist Professor Luke Guddat, tested the efficacy of appro Read More...
Q&A with epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws: how the world is doing so far fighting COVID-19
Date of Posting: 14-04-2020
Professor Mary-Louise McLaws, who is an adviser to the World Health Organisation says the world will never be the same again following the COVID-19 pandemic. How do we know what we know about each country?[subscribe] Mary-Louise McLaws: There a Read More...
Dodgy treatment: it's not us, it's the other lot, say the experts. So who do we believe?
Last Updated: 14-04-2020
Patients might not be getting the best advice about which treatments do or don’t work, according to our study published today. We found professional societies are more likely to call out other health professionals for providing low-valu Read More...
Sports injuries make their mark on Aussies
Date of Posting: 14-04-2020
Almost 60,000 Australians were admitted to hospital for injuries sustained while playing sport in 2016–17, according to a new report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The report, Hospitalised sports injury, Australia, 2016&n Read More...
COVID-19 to push half a billion people into poverty
Date of Posting: 14-04-2020
The economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic could increase global poverty by as much as half a billion people or eight per cent of the world’s population – according to new research. The authors of a United Nations University st Read More...
Rural health academics call for move to district reporting of Covid-19 data
Date of Posting: 14-04-2020
Rural health academics support calls from other rural leaders for more localised reporting of Covid-19 test results to help rural healthcare providers better care for their communities. University of Otago Associate Dean Rural Garry Nixon and Univ Read More...
Early bedtimes linked to healthy weight in children
Date of Posting: 14-04-2020
Researchers have shown healthy sleep for children is not just about getting 10 hours a night, revealing a link between late bedtimes and unhealthy weight gain. A University of Queensland and James Cook University study highlights the importance of Read More...
Health experts say it's too early to relax social distancing
Date of Posting: 14-04-2020
Australia's chief medical officer says it's too early to relax strict social distancing rules but they will have to be reviewed in coming weeks. Australia's coronavirus infection curve may be flattening but it is still too early to rel Read More...
Australian doctors find hope amid ventilator shortage
Last Updated: 14-04-2020
A study has found a way to ventilate two lungs at the same time amid the spread of COVID-19, but researchers warn the practice carries some risk. Australian researchers have found a way to help two people breathe from one ventilator as coronavirus Read More...
Queensland students could learn online or by TV
Date of Posting: 13-04-2020
Queensland parents will find out on Tuesday how the education of their children will be managed in term two. Students could be using the internet, television or hard copies of school curriculums for term 2, the Queensland premier has suggested.[su Read More...
Australia prepares for pandemic deaths
Date of Posting: 10-04-2020
As Australia shows early success in flattening the COVID-19 curve, state governments are still preparing for the possibility of a surge in deaths. Mortuaries are preparing for a possible surge in COVID-19 deaths during the pandemic, even as Austra Read More...
Experts says straws could be useful to combat COVID-19
Date of Posting: 10-04-2020
Refrain from licking your fingers after having fish and chips on Good Friday and be wary of drinking out of containers handled by third parties, an expert says. You should think twice about licking your fingers after a satisfying takeaway meal or Read More...
Safe access to abortion care for SA women during COVID-19
Date of Posting: 10-04-2020
New powers passed in state parliament should be used to ensure safe access to abortion care for SA women during COVID-19, the Human Rights Law Centre says. The South Australian emergency coordinator is being called to use their powers under the CO Read More...
UQ's COVID-19 vaccine testing begins
Date of Posting: 09-04-2020
A coronavirus vaccine created by researchers at the University of Queenslandwill be tested in a specialist facility in the Netherlands ahead of human trials. The effectiveness of a University of Queensland vaccine against the coronavirus is about Read More...
Grocery shortages in remote community stores to persist for weeks
Date of Posting: 09-04-2020
The federal government is doing everything it can to address grocery shortages in remote community stores, Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt says. Grocery shortages at stores in remote communities are expected to persist for a couple o Read More...
Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19 - we don't know if it is safe or if it works
Date of Posting: 08-04-2020
Despite news reports from around the world touting it as a wonder drug, Australians are being reminded that the use of the medicine hydroxychloroquine for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 is experimental, and should only be used by people with Read More...
RACGP on telehealth: An old fashioned phone is perfectly fine
Date of Posting: 08-04-2020
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) is urging patients to embrace telehealth and telephone consultations with their GP. A little over a week ago the Federal Government announced the expansion of Medicare-subsidised telehe Read More...
Date of Posting: 08-04-2020
Ashleigh Woods will never forget the first time she had to help a doctor insert an endotracheal tube into a patient’s lungs, so they could breathe. “It’s pretty intense. We got through it, and I was finishing at 9.30, I stepped o Read More...
Online rapid-response COVID-19 training to help health professionals diagnose lung disease
Date of Posting: 08-04-2020
Health professionals will be able to quickly upgrade their skills to perform lung ultrasound scans to diagnose COVID-19 accurately and safely, with a new online course being made available free by the University of Melbourne. The COVID-19 Lung Ult Read More...
Health experts urged Australians to stay home over Easter
Date of Posting: 08-04-2020
The chief medical officer says containment and quarantine is the best strategy to beat COVID-19 but if a vaccine is found, that would be a beautiful way out. Australians have been urged to stay home with their immediate families over Easter to res Read More...
Amidst the outbreak, people power shines through
Date of Posting: 08-04-2020
As is often the case in a crisis, amid all the bad news, there are people who rise to the occasion to help their fellow Australians in myriad ways. Coronavirus has brought out some ugliness in some people, such as hoarding, but amid the fear and p Read More...
In the fight against coronavirus, antivirals are as important as a vaccine
Last Updated: 07-04-2020
While many scientists are working on developing a coronavirus vaccine, others are busy testing antiviral drugs. Vaccines are generally only effective when administered prior to infection, but antiviral agents are important because they can t Read More...
Can I still go to the dentist? How coronavirus is changing the way we look after our teeth
Date of Posting: 07-04-2020
The coronavirus pandemic is changing the way we access health care, and dental care is no exception. Dentists are no longer allowed to provide a raft of care, such as regular check-ups and tooth whitening, to minimise the spread of COVID-19 Read More...
What health professionals need to know: CVD and COVID-19 consensus statement
Date of Posting: 07-04-2020
Caution in prescribing off-label medicines, and deferring coronary angiography in stable patients with COVID-19 and suspected myocardial infarction, are two of the key recommendations issued in the consensus statement on cardiovascular disease (CVD) Read More...
Country areas at great risk in pandemic
Date of Posting: 07-04-2020
Health services in remote and rural communities, particularly for the most vulnerable elderly and First Nations groups, will be stretched to the limit by COVID-19 outbreaks, says Flinders University Professor Paul Worley. National Rural Health Com Read More...
Psychiatry by telehealth gets boost but more changes needed
Date of Posting: 07-04-2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) welcomes the most recent set of changes to expand Medicare-subsidised telehealth and telephone services, including for psychiatry services, to even more Australians. ‘We Read More...
Researchers develop immunity test for COVID-19
Date of Posting: 06-04-2020
Researchers at Monash University and Alfred Health have developed a rapid test to determine a person's immunity to COVID-19. Australian scientists have made a test to check who is likely to develop coronavirus.[subscribe] Researchers at Mon Read More...
RANZCP applauds deal to leverage private hospitals across Australia
Date of Posting: 06-04-2020
The recently announced partnership between the Commonwealth, States and Territories and the private and not-for-profit hospital sector will strengthen Australia’s capacity to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. ‘While there are still Read More...
