The earthquake in the Northern Italian town of Medolla this May devastated the local community, killing 17 people and leaving 14,000 homeless. Because Medolla is the manufacturing epicentre of the Italian…
In health care, communication can be a matter of life or death. Take the case of an American woman diagnosed with a blood clot in her leg. She died suddenly of a pulmonary embolism the following day, while…
There’s no doubt that obesity has received considerable political attention over the past decade. But data recently released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare shows Australians are losing…
The Commonwealth’s government’s $4bn Dental Reform package, announced last week, promises to address many current inequities in access to dental care. It has been praised for its potential to reduce dental…
Terry Flynn, University of Technology Sydney and Joffre Swait, University of Technology Sydney
Health-care reform in industrialised countries is usually motivated by ageing populations, shaky economic conditions and shifting demographics. Health budgets are finite, so decisions must be made about…
This is a story about two small Aboriginal communities in the Gulf region of North Queensland: Mornington Island and Doomadgee. They share two key characteristics with many other remote communities: very…
Australia is facing an epidemic of chronic lifestyle-related diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and chronic lung disease. We have many treatments for these that aren’t necessarily…
Allan Fels, Australia and New Zealand School of Government (ANZSOG)
It’s a great responsibility to be the Chair of Australia’s first National Mental Health Commission. In fact it’s the greatest responsibility I’ve ever had and let me tell you why as both an economist and…
It’s been 100 years since the first medical textbook identified a link between smoking tobacco and lung cancer. So how strange is it that in 2012 we can walk into Coles and Woolworths and buy cigarettes…
The first of July saw the introduction of one of the most important health care reforms for Australia’s public hospitals: national activity-based funding (ABF). Hospitals will now be paid a fixed price…
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…
The Gillard Government’s health reform legislation passed through parliament without too much fanfare last year, marking the end to the political debates around health reform. Importantly, the legislation…
After a long, painful political and legislative process, the United Kingdom’s Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition government has finally been given the green light to proceed with its National Health…
Did you hear about the latest success for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)? Don’t be ashamed to say no – most of the world missed it with you. So what happened? You’ll remember that the MDGs are…
No matter who wins the Queensland election this Saturday, the next premier of Queensland will have to face up to some serious challenges within the state’s health system. There were improvements made under…
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne