If you have ever wondered why health care is so expensive in the USA, the New Yorker has the answer. It intends to focus on key procedures over the coming months and dissect their component costs to analyse exactly who and what are responsible for the high price of American health care. First stop, colonoscopies. [...]
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A need for more vaccination advocacy
Should the public health community be doing more to promote the benefits of vaccination? Yes, says Dr Melissa Stoneham from the Public Health Advocacy Institute WA. In the latest edition of JournalWatch, she reviews recent research on the transmission of measles and measles vaccination rates in Australia. Are we heading for a measles outbreak, due [...]
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Increasing the influence of your research on policy
Anyone who has been involved in the policy-making process will know that the doctrine of ‘evidence-based policy’ is very rarely adhered to. However, there are encouraging signs that governments at both the national and state levels are working to increase the role of research in driving policy. These include explicit directives to public servants to [...]
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Do we need a Romantic movement in medicine? Involving patients in medical education
At its best, the practice of medicine is both an art and a science. While we continue to pursue laudable goals such as an increase in evidence-based health care, it is important to ensure we don’t lose sight of the ‘art’ of caring for patients. In this wide-ranging and insightful piece, Dr Tim Senior draws on his experience [...]
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Health sector wish-lists: a pre-Budget round-up
With less than a week to go before the Federal Budget 2013, the leaks and rumours (and rumours about leaks) are increasing and speculation about possible new funding measures is mounting. The following analysis looks at the main items on the wish-lists of eight peak health groups and identifies key issues on which there is [...]
READ MOREWork in the Media? 5 Tests you must take now!
Dr Tim Senior, a GP working in Aboriginal health, provides the following advice for anyone reporting on medical tests (or indeed anyone wanting to understand the media’s reporting of screening and test issues)… “I need a prostate check and a colonoscopy” “Oh. What makes you say that?” “Well, I was listening in 2GB the other [...]
READ MOREHealth spending: patients bearing higher costs
From the Commonwealth Parliamentary Library’s FlagPost blog comes the following excellent overview of the main issues in the current debate on out-of-pocket costs. This piece was written by Amanda Biggs and posted with permission. Recent reports have highlighted the growing cost of health services and the increasing financial burden on individuals. According to data from the Australian [...]
READ MOREIs it time for MindCare?
With strong public support for public insurance schemes such as Medicare and the NDIS, Sebastian Rosenberg proposes a similar insurance system for mental health called MindCare… The decision to now support a Medicare-style levy to pay for the new National Disability Insurance Scheme is partly fired by the difficult budget situation. However it is also [...]
READ MOREDigital media and junk food advertising
Bethany Dortmans, on behalf of The Cancer Council Vic, reports on a recent roundtable focussing on the role of digital media in promoting junk food to young people The rise of social media and digital marketing is exposing young children and teenagers to junk food advertising from all directions, according to key figures in obesity prevention. [...]
READ MOREWhat can we learn from Indigenous culture about mental health?
In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ cultures, social and emotional wellbeing are considered pivotal to a community’s survival and growth as well as an individuals’ sense of wellbeing. But our modern world has lost this understanding. International mental health adviser, Gregor Henderson asks if Australia can help shift us back to the future. There [...]
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