Life expectancy in [Australia](http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features10Mar+2011](http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/4102.0Main+Features10Mar+2011) is at an all-time…
The recently released report from the House of Representatives’ inquiry into the registration processes and support for overseas-trained doctors highlights some major shortfalls in how Australia’s health…
Last week, Alzheimer’s Australia released a report that was highly critical of the way Australia’s aged care sector responds to the needs of dementia suffers and their families. It’s an issue that demands…
The Australian Medical Association (AMA) is urging the government to consider the establishment of new medical schools in rural and regional areas to boost the number of doctors in the countryside. The…
Most of us consider health care to be a basic human right, rather than a privilege. In both philosophical and practical terms, the availability of high-quality health care is a national imperative. But…
As many of us recover from the festive binge of overeating, drinking too much and not exercising enough, spare a thought for the new health minister as she plans for 2012. An exciting agenda looms – will…
Ongoing industrial action by Victoria’s nurses has focused public attention on acute health-care services, and provided an opportunity to examine the way those services should best be supported, funded…
Chiropractic has copped some criticism this week, with a group of prominent Australian doctors and scientists urging Central Queensland University to reverse its decision to offer a chiropractic degree…
Going to the doctor is, in many ways, like visiting a car sales yard. The customer has a limited knowledge of the product and the supplier may have a financial incentive to over-service or overcharge…
Doctors and nurses appear to work harmoniously together but this apparently serene state of affairs is actually hiding inequality. Instead of giving nurses the room to shine in their workplace, the traditional…
In an attempt to bring Australia’s medical research, education and healthcare sectors into line with world leaders, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) is planning to develop a new…
Television loves particular careers: detectives, lawyers, forensic experts and, perhaps most of all, doctors. Popular long-running shows such as House and Grey’s Anatomy join a long list of medical programs…
In Australia, as in most of the developed world, about one baby in three is now delivered by caesarean section. To put things in perspective, the rate of caesarean birth has almost doubled over the past…
The deal’s been done and health reform is in the bag. It may not be quite as bold as originally planned by then prime minister Rudd – there’s even been a fair amount of watering down on Julia Gillard’s…
The new Victorian Health Plan 2012-22 offers a bleak prognosis: forever rising medical costs, doctors in the wrong places, hospitals overwhelmed. To make matters worse, it claims that patients can’t be…
How we are born, who supports mothers and the quality of the care provided during birth are vital to good public health and personal well being. But all is not well in modern birthing in spite of the advances…
In collaboration with The Drum, The Conversation is giving statements made by public figures the fine-tooth-comb treatment they deserve. Today, healthcare: “When people get sick or injured or want advice…
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne