Category Archives: Journal articles

Primary health care: when and where did it all begin?

April 5, 2012 – 2:44 pm

Continuing the primary health care theme of the previous post, health policy expert Professor Philip Davies investigates the history of the terms “primary care” and “primary health care” – a topical matter given the legal action recently dropped by Primary Health Care Ltd. *** Tracking the long history of primary health care Philip Davies writes: After [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in general practice, Hospitals, legal issues, Medicare Locals, primary health care | Tagged , | Comments (0)

UK quit smoking campaigns come under fire

February 22, 2012 – 10:07 am

Quit smoking campaigns in the UK that promote nicotine replacement therapies (NRT) are wrong to discourage the “cold turkey” approach, and could learn a lesson from Australian efforts, suggests Simon Chapman, professor of public health at the University of Sydney. *** Raising questions about the medicalisation of smoking cessation   Professor Simon Chapman writes: Two [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in public health, tobacco control, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Comments (7)

On health reform in England, and Mr Magoo

February 16, 2012 – 1:06 pm

(Update on March 1: Links to more reading have been added to the bottom of the post). Huge amounts of media space are being consumed by furore over the NHS reforms in England (though I haven’t seen much coverage in Australia). According to the official summary of The Health and Social Care Bill 2010-12, the reforms will [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in general practice, health reform | Tagged , | Comments (0)

Tackling the overuse of antibiotics: a call to action

February 10, 2012 – 1:53 pm

(Update, Feb 27: Links to further reading have been added to the bottom of the post) The NPS recently launched an education initiative for health professionals as part of a new five-year effort to address “the critical issue” of antibiotic resistance. A campaign targeting the general public is due to start in April. The NPS [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in adverse events, general practice, health and medical research, pharmaceutical industry, primary health care, public health, quality and safety of health care | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

What’s hot in public health journals: Germany’s role in undermining tobacco control

February 8, 2012 – 8:17 pm

The Public Health Advocacy Institute WA has kindly agreed to share its JournalWatch service with Croakey readers. Below is a brief description of the service – and its latest “must read” article, about Germany’s role in undermining tobacco control. *** Finding the findings that matter for policy and practice Dr Melissa Stoneham writes: Our JournalWatch [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in global health, public health, tobacco control | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

Making equity part of the discussion on mental health (including new publications in Indigenous mental health)

February 6, 2012 – 7:12 pm

Note: apologies to readers but system glitches are making it difficult to insert links at the moment. The Australian Psychological Society recently claimed (www.psychology.org.au/Content.aspx?ID=4137) that the Better Access program had been “the most successful mental health initiative of the past 30 years”. This followed the Federal Government’s announcement that it would put in place transition arrangements [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in child health, health financing and costs, Health inequalities, health reform, Indigenous health, mental health, rural and remote health, Uncategorized | Comments (1)

When doctors “prescribe” exercise, does it make any difference?

February 3, 2012 – 4:15 pm

Doctors are often encouraged to “prescribe” exercise to sedentary patients, but it’s not been clear whether such initiatives make any difference, to either peoples’  level of activity or their health. In its latest Croakey update, the Primary Health Care Research and Information Service (better known as PHC RIS) highlights a recent systematic review and meta-analysis [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in evidence-based issues, obesity, physical activity, primary health care | Comments (0)

Mental health funding: well targeted or just well meant?

January 31, 2012 – 11:20 am

Dr Lesley Russell writes: Since 2006, Australian governments have committed to spending around $8 billion of new money on mental health.  Given the huge burden of mental illness and the unmet needs for mental health services, proper accountability for this expenditure is crucial to ensure that it is targeted at the areas of greatest need [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in health financing and costs, health reform, mental health | Comments (0)

Beyond band-aids: Medicare needs structural reform

January 19, 2012 – 3:46 pm

The crew at The Medical Journal of Australia must be feeling rather pleased this week by the publicity and debate generated via this week’s edition, particularly the articles on Medicare by Dr Tony Webber and on corporatisation of medicine by Ray Moynihan. Below is some wider commentary, reproduced from The Conversation, with articles from: • [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in Australian Medical Association, dental care, general practice, health reform, health regulation, health workforce, primary health care, The Conversation | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (2)

A new Croakey project: Naked Doctor, profiling overdiagnosis and overtreatment

January 16, 2012 – 4:45 pm

Up to $3 billion of public money is wasted each year under Medicare, according to estimates by Dr Tony Webber, who headed the Professional Services Review for more than six years. His article in today’s Medical Journal of Australia – which has drawn widespread media coverage – argues that poor policy (such as the Medicare [...]

By Melissa Sweet | Also posted in health reform, health regulation, health workforce, Naked Doctor | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (15)