News Articles
Melanoma patients to benefit from cheaper treatments
Date of Posting: 21-01-2024
Australians living with recurrent melanoma will have a new treatment option subsidised by the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). Patients with advanced melanoma will be reimbursed for a treatment called Opdualag - a combination of immunotherapi Read More...
Fentanyl lies in wait as 'the wolf at Australia's door'
Date of Posting: 21-01-2024
Australia is underprepared for the possibility of a fentanyl epidemic as the drug lies in wait as the "wolf at the country's door". That's the warning from health experts who say while illicit fentanyl is yet to garner underworld Read More...
HIV-hepatitis project aims to reduce health inequities
Date of Posting: 19-01-2024
Despite advancements in effective treatments for HIV and viral hepatitis, the rates of diagnosis are disproportionately higher in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities compared with the non-Indigenous population. But a new initiative i Read More...
Prenatal opioid exposure linked to eczema, asthma
Date of Posting: 19-01-2024
Babies who are exposed to prescription opioids while in the womb are more likely to be diagnosed with an infection, eczema or asthma, researchers have found. The study from the University of Western Australia analysed health records of 401,462 chi Read More...
Record number of flesh-eating ulcer cases
Date of Posting: 18-01-2024
A record number of Victorians were diagnosed with a flesh-eating ulcer in 2023. There were 363 Buruli ulcer cases detected but most were not severe.[subscribe] It's caused by a bacterial infection that can create significant skin damage inc Read More...
Cost of responding to hundreds of MDMA overdoses rising
Date of Posting: 18-01-2024
The cost of responding to MDMA overdoses has risen by more than $1500 since before the pandemic to an average of almost $8000 per patient in Victoria. The jump has been attributed to the rising cost of services, with the figure including the price Read More...
Fresh Sydney measles alert after second infant infected
Date of Posting: 18-01-2024
Children on a shopping centre playground may have been accidentally exposed to measles after the highly infectious disease was discovered in a second Sydney infant. The seven-month-old baby recently returned from the Middle East, where there have Read More...
Vic paramedics consider striking over pay, conditions
Date of Posting: 17-01-2024
Victorian paramedics will take industrial action if they can't come to an agreement with the government over pay and conditions in the next two weeks. The Victorian Ambulance Union (VAU) on Tuesday confirmed 86.8 per cent of its members had vo Read More...
Vape inaction 'not an option' despite huge GP need
Date of Posting: 17-01-2024
Packed GP waiting rooms might need to find space for hundreds of thousands more patients each year under an analysis of new vape rules. But as the number of e-cigarette users hits 1.3 million, one state minister says stemming the tide of an emergi Read More...
Measles alert after infectious baby returns from Asia
Date of Posting: 16-01-2024
A baby who recently returned from overseas has triggered a health alert after visiting a cafe while infected with measles. NSW Health raised the alarm after the nine-month-old infant was taken to locations in Sydney's inner west and southwest. Read More...
New incentive for students entering the nursing and medical fields
Date of Posting: 16-01-2024
If you’re thinking of starting nursing in NSW as a career - good news - the state government is now offering those enrolled in a healthcare degree $12,000 in study subsidies. In the middle of last year, it was announced that 6500 nurses and Read More...
Three new party drugs sniffed out at pill testing site
Date of Posting: 15-01-2024
Scientists have sniffed out three new recreational drugs at Australia's only fixed pill testing site. The party drugs have similar effects to MDMA, also known as ecstasy, and ketamine, which is used as a medical anaesthetic.[subscribe] They Read More...
Approaching Menopause - What You Need to Know [2024 Guide]
Last Updated: 14-01-2024
Menopause marks a significant transition in a woman's life, heralding changes that affect her physical, emotional, and mental well-being. ● As we progress into 2024, advancements in medicine and a better understanding of menopause have e Read More...
Safe sex messaging pushed after concerning rise in STIs
Date of Posting: 14-01-2024
Dating apps will feature a new sexual health campaign urging young Australians to get their "fun parts" tested amid a rise in sexually transmitted infections. Health Minister Mark Butler launched the Beforeplay campaign on Sunday, which Read More...
Cancer check-ups urged despite cost of living pressure
Date of Posting: 14-01-2024
Imagination is required to come up with novel methods of encouraging better health care among men, with only so many ways experts can say the same thing. But new research revealing that cost of living pressures have become a hurdle to Australians Read More...
COVID, flu vaccination rates drop as cases surge: WHO
Date of Posting: 14-01-2024
Low vaccination rates against the latest versions of COVID-19 and influenza are putting pressure on health care systems, leading public health officials say. In the United States, several European countries and other parts of the world, there have Read More...
The 'battle' between phyisos and chiros
Last Updated: 13-01-2024
Talk to anyone with a bad back or other aches and pains, and you’ll probably find they’ve been recommended both physiotherapy treatment and chiropractic treatment, depending on who they’ve spoken to. Most people assume the answer Read More...
Machine learning touted to fix SA ramping crisis
Date of Posting: 12-01-2024
Machine learning technology has been floated as a potential solution for South Australia's ramping crisis after a review found no evidence clinicians were being pressured to treat ambulance patients ahead of sicker patients in waiting rooms. T Read More...
GP disqualified for groping, kissing patient's mother
Date of Posting: 12-01-2024
A Victorian GP who groped and kissed the mother of his young patient while she tried to leave an appointment has been disqualified from practising as a doctor. Shyamal Kanti Datta touched the woman's breast and kissed her on the cheek during a Read More...
New COVID-19 variant drives festive season surge
Date of Posting: 10-01-2024
NSW and Victoria are recording a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalisations as emerging variant JN.1 drives a wave of infections. Health officials say while the strain is not necessarily more infectious than those before it, Christmas and New Ye Read More...
Doctors defend seven-day delay for patient results
Date of Posting: 10-01-2024
Australians could get their X-rays and blood test results sooner, but doctors warn scrapping delays may have unintended consequences. The Department of Health and Aged Care revealed in late 2023 it was aiming to provide Australians with faster acc Read More...
Size matters in new worker tests for dust lung diseases
Date of Posting: 09-01-2024
Serious concerns remain for the health of workers' lungs across a range of industries despite a ban on engineered stone coming into effect this year. Testing only accounts for the weight of particles, when size and shape may be equally importa Read More...
Social media posts used to find mental health distress
Date of Posting: 09-01-2024
Social media could be the key to unlocking crucial and improved support for people experiencing mental health issues. James Cook University researchers have developed a technique to analyse social media posts to detect early warning signs of menta Read More...
Climate change could be impacting babies' birth weights
Date of Posting: 09-01-2024
Climate change could be impacting babies' birth weight after scientists found a potential link to extreme weather exposure during pregnancy. Researchers at the Curtin School of Population Health say global warming could pose a big risk to Aust Read More...
Physiotherapist returns to his small hometown and gives back to his community
Date of Posting: 08-01-2024
With a population of only 1,500 people, the town of Bingara in NSW has been desperate for another physio practising within their community. With only one physio, wait times have been long for residents. Thankfully, a new physio has joined the ranks. Read More...
Fewer doctors offer bulk billing as consult costs rise
Date of Posting: 08-01-2024
A fall in the number of GPs bulk billing highlights the need for the government to make health care more affordable, doctors say. A report by healthcare monitors Cleanbill revealed the national average for out-of-pocket costs to see a GP is now $4 Read More...
Drug batch fears after suspected overdoses at festival
Date of Posting: 08-01-2024
Nine people have been taken to hospital after suffering suspected drug overdoses at a music festival at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne. Eight of the nine were in a critical condition and had been put on breathing tubes after falling unwell on Read More...
Eye-opening trial mends behaviour in operating theatres
Date of Posting: 05-01-2024
Poorly behaved Australian surgeons are officially on watch ... sort of. Unexplained images of eyes attached to the walls of an Adelaide orthopaedic hospital has markedly reduced poor behaviour among surgical teams.[subscribe] The novel experime Read More...
'No one to help': Man dies after 10-hour ambo wait
Date of Posting: 05-01-2024
In pain and vomiting, an Adelaide man's 000 call should have resulted in an ambulance picking him up in no more than 60 minutes. But on December 27, after a 10-hour wait, with ambulances backed up at hospitals across the city, the 54-year-old Read More...
Hundreds of patients given expired COVID-19 vaccines
Date of Posting: 05-01-2024
A pharmacy in rural Tasmania has administered expired COVID-19 vaccinations to about 600 people over two years. The state's health department said the issue at Yolla Community Pharmacy in the island's northwest was identified after a revie Read More...
More hubs help cut down the elective surgery waitlist
Date of Posting: 04-01-2024
Three new rapid access hubs are opening in Victoria, allowing 6000 additional patients to undergo elective surgery in the state. The latest one at The Alfred Centre will open on Monday, while the Moorabbin and the Royal Children's hospitals wi Read More...
Latest Legionella case sparks Sydney health warning
Date of Posting: 04-01-2024
People who have been in central Sydney are being warned to watch out for symptoms of Legionnaires' disease with seven cases were recorded in the past three weeks. Three women and four men, aged from their 20s to 70s, visited locations in the C Read More...
England's junior doctors set for record strike
Date of Posting: 03-01-2024
Junior doctors in England are set to begin a six-day walkout, the longest strike in the state-run National Health Service's 75-year history. Junior doctors, represented by the British Medical Association, have staged a series of walkouts in de Read More...
Cancer, cystic fibrosis treatments in new PBS listings
Date of Posting: 02-01-2024
Medicines to help treat infants with cystic fibrosis along with new therapies for patients with advanced ovarian cancer will be subsidised under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme. Multiple new treatments were added to the scheme on January 1, whi Read More...
Bite-sized goals the key to new year fitness targets
Date of Posting: 01-01-2024
Australians vowing to transform from couch potato to elite athlete in 2024 have been warned to keep their fitness goals achievable or risk disappointment. Health and fitness ambitions are popular new year resolutions but are notoriously tough to s Read More...
Wasted opportunity as frozen eggs languish in storage
Date of Posting: 01-01-2024
Scientists are decrying a wasted opportunity as thousands of frozen eggs sit unused in storage instead of being used in potentially valuable medical research. Hopeful mothers froze more than 3000 eggs at Monash IVF clinics across Australia between Read More...
Australians are set to have a healthier and wealthier 2024
Last Updated: 31-12-2023
Setting a New Years resolution seems an inspiring way to start the year. But with only about two thirds of Australians able to stick to them beyond January, it's important to keep a few things in mind.[subscribe] Based on a survey of just o Read More...
US woman with double uterus gives birth to 'rare' twins
Date of Posting: 24-12-2023
An Alabama woman with a rare congenital anomaly that results in her having two uteri has given birth to healthy twin girls. Kelsey Hatcher and husband Caleb welcomed Roxi Layla on Tuesday night and her sister Rebel Laken on Wednesday morning at th Read More...
Fed up to the back teeth: rural dental divide revealed
Date of Posting: 24-12-2023
Oral health therapist Nicole Stormon gave a little boy a superhero-themed electric toothbrush to encourage him to clean his teeth. "The next day I excitedly went to him and said, 'How did you go with your Spiderman toothbrush?'" Read More...
The Evolving Role of Nutrition in Preventive Healthcare: A Guide for Health Professionals
Last Updated: 22-12-2023
In recent years, the focus of healthcare has gradually shifted from treatment to prevention, with nutrition playing a pivotal role in this transformation. As health professionals, understanding the impact of dietary choices on overall health is cruci Read More...
