Is it time to resurrect Sid the Seagull and skin cancer prevention campaigns? That’s the suggestion from Dr Melissa Stoneham, in her latest report from the JournalWatch service of The Public Health Advocacy Institute WA. *** Slip Slop Slap…do we need this iconic campaign to re-emerge? Melissa Stoneham writes: Remember Sid the Seagull? The life-size sun safe seagull who [...]
READ MOREDo hospital clinicians have too much power?
The distribution of power within the health system has a profound impact upon how the funding cake is divided and to what effect. In the article below, health economist Professor Gavin Mooney suggests that hospital clinicians – and particularly some types of hospital clinicians – wield too much power. He asks: how can we get a [...]
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Social media: an opportunity for health professionals to contribute to wider social debates (and to #destroythejoint)
Health professionals have much to gain – and to contribute – from engaging with online discussions and sharing of news and information. In the article below, Victorian surgeon Dr Jill Tomlinson shares some of her online experiences, including her recent involvement in the #destroythejoint Twitter campaign against misogyny. *** My social media journey Jill Tomlinson [...]
READ MOREA call for private obstetricians to publish their intervention rates
What impact would it have if private obstetricians were required to publish their caesarean section rates and other indicators of their professional practice? It’s an intervention worth testing, suggest the authors of the article below, Hannah Dahlen, Associate Professor of Midwifery at the University of Western Sydney, and Bashi Hazard, a solicitor and mother of [...]
READ MOREWhat does it take to get our media to cover health issues affecting low and middle income countries?
The separation of Bangladeshi conjoined twins Trishna and Krishna in Melbourne in November 2009 was a huge news story. It accounts for a staggering 90% of health-related stories mentioning Bangladesh that are held in the University of Sydney’s health-related television news and current affairs database, which goes back over seven years. But who were the [...]
READ MOREShareLife responds: organ donation rates should be much higher
In the article below, Sara Irvine from ShareLife Australia responds to a Croakey article about organ transplant policy by Anne Cahill Lambert that was published last month. *** We should be doing better on organ donation rates Sara Irvine writes: The Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King recently announced: “In 2011, 1001 Australians [...]
READ MOREThe argument for a federal takeover of health in Tasmania
The likelihood of a “federal takeover” of health (as mooted by Kevin Rudd in 2007) looks ever more remote. However, there seems to be a growing chorus of support for this in Tasmania. Earlier this month, the independent MP Andrew Wilkie joined the Tasmanian Premier’s calls for a federal takeover of public hospitals in that [...]
READ MOREHow can we ensure a sustainable health system? Plus recent articles on surgery waiting lists, e-health and gambling reform
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Library’s FlagPost blog has published a number of articles recently that may be of interest to Croakey readers – on health expenditure, elective surgery waiting times, e-health and gambling reforms. More info below… What is the most effective and fairest way of keeping a lid on health expenditure? Anne-marie Boxall writes: The [...]
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Physician assistants win support of rural/remote doctors – and a report from the coalface
Regular readers will know of Croakey’s interest in the potential for physician assistants (PAs) to help improve access to health care in rural, remote and other under-served areas. The Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine (ACRRM) recently endorsed a policy statement giving strong support to the potential of PAs “to extend the reach of [...]
READ MOREThe Tax Forum: so much for “health in all policies”
How different might the Tax Forum have been if a “health in all policies” framework had been one of its driving forces? The tax system is not only important for specific health issues, with tobacco and alcohol being the obvious examples, but also for how it can help shape the social and economic factors that [...]
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