News Articles
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...
NSW government is urging young people to take the COVID-19 pandemic seriously
Date of Posting: 06-04-2020
The NSW government is urging young people to take the COVID-19 pandemic seriously as the state's death toll reached 16. The NSW government is urging young people to take the COVID-19 pandemic seriously, revealing more than a quarter of the sta Read More...
Concerns about COVID-19 cases deriving from unknown sources
Date of Posting: 06-04-2020
The Chief Medical Officer is encouraging safe social distancing practices with about 10 per cent of Australia's COVID-19 cases deriving from unknown sources. Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy is urging the public to practise safe social dis Read More...
Disturbed fear and anxiety from unknown factors can keep people up at night
Date of Posting: 03-04-2020
Uncertainty around the coronavirus pandemic can leave people stressed and anxious leading to a cycle of poor sleep and restlessness. Sleep may be hard to come by for people during the coronavirus pandemic but many will get an extra hour of it on S Read More...
Shopping Angels deliver groceries for those in need
Date of Posting: 03-04-2020
The Shopping Angels initiative has spread from the United States to Australia, connecting people who need groceries with volunteers offering to help. People unable to leave home to buy groceries during the coronavirus crisis are being helped by a Read More...
A drug for HIV to be used in a national trial to treat COVID-19
Date of Posting: 03-04-2020
A drug for HIV patients will be used in a national trial to treat COVID-19, led by the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity. A drug for HIV patients has arrived in Australia to be used in a national trial to treat COVID-19.[subscribe Read More...
Less sleep in children who use devices before bed and who choose their own bedtimes
Date of Posting: 03-04-2020
Intermediate school-aged children who use a device just before bedtime and decide what time they go to sleep, achieve less sleep and feel more sleepier the following day than their peers. That’s the findings from new research by former Unive Read More...
Newly discovered memory process influences decision-making: neuroscience study
Date of Posting: 03-04-2020
Learned connections between stimuli and reward – like the positive emotions associated with popular brands – have a powerful influence over our future decisions. Scientists have started to discover why. A new type of memory process has Read More...
Ahpra returns over 40,000 health practitioners to the temporary pandemic response sub-register
Date of Posting: 03-04-2020
Ahpra returns over 40,000 health practitioners to the temporary pandemic response sub-register to support our critical health workforce during the emergency As health services prepare for the expected surge in demand resulting from COVID-19, the A Read More...
Free childcare for working parents
Date of Posting: 02-04-2020
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has unveiled a free childcare package to save the sector and help working parents as the coronavirus death toll rose to 24. Parents will receive free childcare if they have to keep attending work in the latest billion Read More...
Backpacking nurses in Australia face visa hurdles to work
Date of Posting: 02-04-2020
More than 1000 backpacking nurses needed in Australia's fight against coronavirus are jumping through hoops to try to stay in the country. Foreign nurses are being forced to pick fruit to stay in Australia despite being needed for the fight ag Read More...
A new jobs site launched to counter virus impact
Date of Posting: 02-04-2020
A new site has been launched by the government, where all available work across the country is listed to help Australians unemployed because of coronavirus. Australians looking for work can now go to a new website to help with the hunt.[subscribe] Read More...
Australia's national science agency tests potential COVID-19 vaccines
Date of Posting: 02-04-2020
Australia's national science agency has joined the race to find a vaccine for the coronavirus, with testing on two potential candidates beginning in Victoria. Australia's national science agency has begun testing potential coronavirus vacc Read More...
Queensland doctors on the frontline worried about safety supplies
Date of Posting: 01-04-2020
An Australian Medical Association Queensland survey of more than 600 doctors has found 70 per cent say they do not have enough personal protective equipment. Queensland doctors on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic fear they do not have enough Read More...
Researchers trial a blood cancer treatment added to the PBS
Date of Posting: 01-04-2020
Given only six years to live nearly 10 years ago, Ian Fox is rapt he helped researchers trial a blood cancer treatment added to the PBS. Nearly a decade after doctors told him he had up to six years to live, Ian Fox's blood cancer is in remiss Read More...
Deputy Nationals leader warns Australians, caravans could be next virus cruise ships
Date of Posting: 01-04-2020
Deputy Nationals leader David Littleproud has warned caravans could become the cruise ships of the outback by spreading the deadly coronavirus. An influx of caravans into regional Australia has sparked grave concerns in country communities as the Read More...
Dental pain - what you can do before you see the dentist
Date of Posting: 01-04-2020
Dental pain can be very serious and sometimes people need urgent pain relief before they can get to a dentist. In the latest edition of Australian Prescriber, specialist endodontist Dr Aovana Timmerman and Professor Peter Parashos from the Melbour Read More...
Are smokers more likely to catch COVID-19?
Date of Posting: 01-04-2020
Two UNSW Sydney academics discuss how coronavirus – primarily a respiratory virus – affects smokers. Professor Christine Jenkins, AM, is Conjoint Professor of Respiratory Medicine at UNSW Sydney, Head of the Respiratory Group at The Ge Read More...
PPE an 'ethical imperative' for front-line health workers
Date of Posting: 01-04-2020
Personal protective equipment for front-line health workers is an ethical imperative, University of Otago ethicist Dr Elizabeth Fenton says. In a blog just published on the Journal of Medical Ethics website, Dr Fenton questions whether healthcare Read More...
How to help children manage virus anxiety
Date of Posting: 31-03-2020
Parents and mental health practitioners say children and teenagers may experience anxiety due to the coronavirus pandemic and associated lifestyle changes. A Queensland mum says her heart is breaking watching her special needs children try to deal Read More...
Australian winter might make fighting COVID-19 harder
Date of Posting: 31-03-2020
It's potentially worrying that we've seen widespread COVID-19 infection in Australia while the weather is still warm, says a leading infectious disease expert. While not yet upon us, the Australian winter might make fighting COVID-19 harde Read More...
Should I do anything about my impacted wisdom tooth?
Date of Posting: 31-03-2020
Your wisdom teeth are those teeth at the back of your mouth that emerge in early 20s. Not only are they the last teeth to emerge, they usually don’t appear until you’re in your late teens or early 20s. Even if they fail to erupt at all Read More...
ANMF urges the government to recruit unemployed nurses and improve communication
Last Updated: 31-03-2020
The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) has urged the Federal Government to commit to employing nursing graduates who have not yet secured permanent graduate positions, along with those who are unemployed. While engaging internation Read More...
In the time of coronavirus, donating blood is more essential than ever
Last Updated: 31-03-2020
Blood is like milk, not toilet paper. You can’t just buy a lot of it and save it for later – you need to have a regular, fresh supply for patients who need it. At the moment, fewer Australians are donating blood than usual. To a Read More...
How to talk to children about COVID-19
Date of Posting: 31-03-2020
Experts warn children are at risk of emotional trauma due to family and community distress caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Nicola Palfrey, from The Australian National University (ANU), said it is normal for children and adults to feel s Read More...
BD Reintroduces its Ultra-Fine(TM) 4mm Pen Needle to Australia
Last Updated: 31-03-2020
Global medical technology company Becton Dickinson today announced the reintroduction of its diabetes care product the BD Ultra-Fine™ 4mm Pen Needle to Australia. The original BD Ultra-Fine™ 4mm Pen Needle, used for injecting diabetes Read More...
Flu shot is useless on coronavirus
Date of Posting: 30-03-2020
Australia's peak medical group is warning against false cures for coronavirus, including the flu shot and a malaria vaccine. Australians are being warned against thinking this year's flu shot will protect them from coronavirus.[subscribe] Read More...
According to the National Education Council, no certainty on exams for year 12 students
Date of Posting: 30-03-2020
Senior students will not know until April how year 12 assessments will be carried out, according to the National Education Council. Australia's Year 12 students face an uncertain future with national educators unable to agree on the make-up of Read More...
Australia's coronavirus cases set to hit 5000 in coming days
Date of Posting: 30-03-2020
COVID-19 cases projected to double every few days in Australia without sufficient physical distancing, biosecurity experts say. New modelling from experts at The Australian National University (ANU) and the University of Melbourne shows Australia& Read More...
Psychiatrists need more changes to address COVID-19 challenges
Date of Posting: 30-03-2020
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) welcomes the Australian Government’s changes announced yesterday to expand Medicare-subsidised telehealth services for more Australians. ‘The expansion of telehealt Read More...
RACGP welcomes telehealth expansion to fight COVID-19
Date of Posting: 30-03-2020
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) has today welcomed the Federal Government’s expansion of Medicare-subsidised telehealth services for all Australians. Telehealth is a vital measure that will keep GPs safe and all Read More...
