The threshold for diagnosing common conditions such as high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease and gestational diabetes have all lowered in recent years. But for whose benefit?
Farmers experience drought-related stress. Improving their mental health enhances adaptive capacity and resilience. Drought support must address relationships between drought and mental health.
Unlike condoms, which need to be used every time with sex, or the pill, which must be taken every day, LARC doesn’t require any action after placement in the body and is immediately reversible.
A study that shows GPs are prescribing about five million too many antibiotic scripts a year means we have to take a radical new approach to reducing use of these drugs.
In many cases, the most appropriate treatment for a health condition isn’t a drug. It could be a recommendation for a dietary change, a specific exercise, or even a phone app.
Many guidelines offered to GPs are based on evidence unrelated to general practice. Studies show doctors tend to ignore these guidelines which can pose a risk to patients’ health.
The greater threats to our national public health system lie in the increasing role of consumer co-payments and the power of vested interests that stifle policy innovation in health.
Recent reports have signalled another potential Medicare cost blowout due to the billing practices of GPs providing care after hours. Is it true and is there a problem with these services?
In some parts of Australia, patients are twice to three times more likely to avoid seeing their GP because they can’t afford it, according to figures released today.
The off-label use of medicines is not illegal and it doesn’t mean regulators have specifically “disapproved” its use. But there are a number of issues to consider before using a medicine off-label.
Australia spent $16 billion on GP-related health care in 2012-13. Given that our public health system means each of us is paying for health care through our taxes, what should we expect from doctors?
Honorary Enterprise Professor, School of Population and Global Health, and Department of General Practice and Primary Care, The University of Melbourne