More of us are labelled as sick with the constantly changing diagnostic cut-offs for diseases. Now an international expert panel has drafted a list of things to consider before setting new thresholds.
In Australia, only three infectious diseases are known to be transmitted from ticks to humans: Queensland tick typhus; Flinders Island Spotted Fever; and Q fever.
Irrational prescriptions are a major global health problem. The World Health Organisation estimates that more than half of all medicines are inappropriately prescribed, dispensed or sold.
With an estimated 100,000 health and fitness apps available, it seems there is an app for everything – from tracking your bowel movements to practising your pimple-popping technique.
By tying funding to disability categories, schools and parents are being put under pressure to seek a diagnosis for their child in order to get funding support.
Humans can only do so much when it comes to diagnosing what’s wrong with a patient. So why not let machines take over? They learn faster than humans and never retire.
The rate of Australians dying from cancer is on a steady, downhill trajectory, thanks to powerful advances made in prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne